Soulmate (Fraxus)
by UltimatexAdmin
Summary: Laxus has always considered Freed his closest friend and the most important part of his life. But when Freed nearly dies in a fire, Laxus begins to realize just how much Freed means to him. Freed has always been a bit reclusive, he keeps to himself and never lets anyone touch his hands. But when he suddenly develops feelings for Laxus... He doesn't know what to do. (Laxus x Freed)
1. The fire

_"I cannot lose you, because if I ever did, I'd have lost my best friend, my soul mate, my smile, my laugh, my everything."_

_-Unknown_

**_-_**

_Laxus POV_

I let out a heavy sigh as I propped my feet up on the desk in front of me, clasping my muscular arms behind my head. It had been a long day and my grandfather had given me a lot of paperwork to fill out as a punishment for a building I had accidentally destroyed in Magnolia due to a careless lightning strike. Now, I was absolutely exhausted, but my lips still twitched upward in something of a smile. I was proud of the work the Thunder Legion and I had gotten done today before the paperwork began.

Evergreen had managed to single-handedly put out a roaring inferno that had completely taken the town hall. Natsu's carelessness. She also managed to get everyone out. Nobody was hurt by the conflagration and there were no fatalities.

Bickslow had done an excellent job of tracking down and apprehending two "mastermind" criminals that had been going around pickpocketing rich men and robbing unsuspecting old ladies at gunpoint. The treacherous duo were even suspected in the murder of an elderly man they had robbed. The police had been searching for them for weeks, but it only took good old Bickslow an hour to put an end to their pathetic crimes.

...And, of course, there was Freed Justine_, _my closest friend and confidant. He had been there for me through the highs and the lows of life, and he was almost like a little servant boy, doing whatever I asked without hesitation, loyal and devoted. He had stuck by my side throughout the entire day, helping me with this and that, making sure everything ran smoothly and even using one of his powerful enchantments to completely repair the building I had accidentally destroyed with my lightning.

I smiled as I thought of Freed. He was a couple years younger than me, and several inches shorter than me. But I learned the hard way not to let his thin build and unthreatening height fool me. He was one of the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail, able to weave unbreakable enchantments that could turn even the strongest of the Saint Wizards against each other, trapping them within an invisible wall until they completed the "rules" his enchantment laid down. Enchantment rules were unbreakable.

_Speaking of Freed..._ I sat up a little and glanced at the papers sitting on the desk by my ankles. _I could really use someone to take these to Grandpa for me..._

"Hey, Freed!" I called out, knowing my friend was close by.

A short moment passed before a familiar face poked around the corner of the door. "Yes, Laxus?"

"Sorry to bother you again, but would you mind returning these to Makarov for me?" I asked, gesturing to the pile of papers.

Freed nodded and stepped all the way into the room to collect the papers I had indicated. He was small and thin like I mentioned before, with pale skin and shimmering hazel eyes. His hair was long and a vivid true green color, cascading all the way down to his waist, where it was tied off with a black elastic, keeping it from going all over the place and getting in the way. His long bangs were free, however, and they covered his right eye and hung over his shoulders. An adorable pair of antler-like horns the same color of his hair protrudes from either side of his head, jagged like little green lightning bolts. He always wore a heavy scarlet-red British trenchcoat, with a frilly white collar and a wide black belt buckled across his waist, keeping the coat closed. I honestly liked the way he dressed. It was very prim and proper.

Something rather strange about Freed was the fact he never let anyone, and I mean_ anyone_ touch his hands. Ever. And he solemnly refused to tell me why.

"What're all these papers for, anyway?" he asked, sliding his tiny hands under the stack of paper and scooping it up.

"Makarov made me do them since I destroyed that building earlier." I shrugged carelessly.

"Oh? I thought I fixed that."

"You did, but not before Cana noticed and ran off to tattle on me."

"That's a shame."

"It really is."

I watched as he started out of the room, papers in hand, but was suddenly cut off by Bickslow bursting into the room.

_"Hello!"_ Bickslow bellowed, raising his ginormous arms in greeting.

He was clad in a black bodysuit with thin white stripes running vertically across the whole thing, hood drawn up to cover his messy hair. Over his bodysuit, clasped around his shoulders, was a bright red satin cape with thick white fur trim around the neck. He had dark tan skin and was absolutely massive in size and build. Perched atop his head was a slitted Knight's mask, made entirely of cast iron, concealing his eyes from view.

"Sup, Bix?" I grinned before turning my back to my friends, picking up a clean sheet of paper and doodling on it furiously.

"Nothing much, Laxus!" Bickslow roared, at full volume. "Oh, what's this? Paperwork? Lame!" he lowered his arms so he could snatch the papers right out of Freed's hands and run off with them.

A very indignant Freed balled his hands into fists and chased Bickslow across the room, practically squeaking with irritation. "Give those back, Bickslow! I need to deliver those for Laxus!"

"Hehehe!" the beefy, tall boy boomed as he held the papers high above his head, far out of Freed's reach.

Freed jumped a couple times, arms extended as far as they could, but he couldn't reach that far. "Give them _back,_ you bumbling idiot! Please?!"

I twisted in my seat to see Freed standing in front of Bickslow, hands on his hips, glaring at the taller male fiercely. Rolling my eyes, I called out, "Ey, Bix, stop making fun of Freed and give the papers back, will ya??"

Bickslow groaned with mock irritation. "Aw, but it's so funny when this little insect gets all angry." he said, as he gave the papers back to the green-haired, flustered wizard standing before him. "And you're no fun, Laxus, always defending him like he needs your help."

"Hah. You're one to talk. I'm the only one who treats him right around here. Stop being an ass." I waved a hand dismissively, and he obediently left the room, grumbling loudly to himself.

Freed sighed and lowered his gaze to the floor, seeming extremely deflated. He shouldered the stack of papers and started out of the room, but I called out, "Hang on a second," and he immediately froze, glancing at me over his shoulder.

"Yes?" he asked, giving me that odd, peering look of his that I never understood.

"Don't let Bix get to you, okay? He's just... Being an ass." I said, offering the smaller boy a reassuring smile. "I appreciate all your hard work, it means a lot to me. Keep your chin up."

Finally Freed smiled in return. Mission accomplished.

"Thanks, Laxus. Means a lot to me." he nodded sincerely. "Well, I'd better take care of these. My arms are getting tired." he waved a cheerful goodbye as he hurried out of the room, beaming like a little ray of sunlight.

I chuckled softly, shaking my head as I turned back to my now-empty desk. It was kinda nice, being done with all my work for today. There was something satisfying about having nothing left to do except whatever the hell I wanted. Maybe I'd go get something nice for dinner. Or maybe I'd take a look at the job board and pick one out for me and my friends to go on. The options were limitless.

"Laxus?" now it was Evergreen's turn to poke her pretty little head in the room.

"Yeah?" I called over my shoulder, not even looking at her.

"So I was wondering if we could all go on patrol together tomorrow." she came all the way in, smoothing down her soft green dress with a look of total contempt. "I had fun doing it by myself today, I figured the whole team might enjoy it." she pushed her wireframe round glasses up on her nose.

Evergreen was a short, curvaceous woman with long, wavy brown hair, glittering gold eyes, and well-tanned skin. She was clad in a short green dress that ended well above her knees.

"Well, that sounds nice. It would either be that or some random job, and I guess staying in town is a good plan too." I agreed, nodding slightly. "Haven't fire rates been up? You're good with conflagrations and things like that, as you demonstrated earlier..."

"Indeed." Evergreen puffed up a little with pride. "That's another reason I wanted to go, putting out buildings on fire is my new specialty."

I grinned playfully. "Sounds like a plan, I guess that's what we're doing tomorrow."

She turned and strode out of the room, satisfied, calling out, "Byeeee, Laxus!" in her usual singsong voice.

I didn't bother replying as she disappeared around the corner. My friends certainly were a crazy bunch. We had Freed, whom was super shy and quiet but really sweet. Bickslow, whom only ever spoke as loud as he possibly could and liked to mess with those smaller and weaker than him. And of course Evergreen, whom was prideful and vain but still made for a great teammate.

They were an odd group, but I loved them all to death.

For whatever reason, my thoughts lingered on Freed. The sweet smile gracing his face when I told him I appreciated him was branded into my memory. He really was such a precious person, one that I treasured closest to my heart.

-

Going out on patrol the following day was a good call. I was glad I agreed to it.

At first, I thought it would be boring. But walking slow laps around the city with my friends wasn't so bad after all. It was nice just enjoying the sights and helping those on the sidelines who needed assistance with minor things. I had many great conversations with my comrades, whom followed close behind me, talking and laughing like we always did.

The sky was blue, a few large, fluffy white clouds drifted lazily through the sky. At the edge of the horizon, a black line was forming, indicating the rapid approach of a massive thunderstorm. It was hot outside, a typical summer day. The trees were green, everything was bright and beautiful, and the citizens of Magnolia were all smiling. I think everyone's spirits were lifted in the city, everyone was having a good or at least pleasant, enjoyable day.

It was absolutely perfect, if that word is socially acceptable...

"Oh wow. It really is pleasant out here today..." Evergreen remarked, glancing around at the whitewashed buildings on both sides of the cobblestone road we were walking upon.

"I second that." Freed agreed, from where he managed to keep perfect pace with me, on my right side.

"Shut up, pipsqueak." Bickslow snarled as he playfully elbowed the smaller boy, causing him to stumble and nearly faceplant on the street.

"Hey. Be nice." I scolded, protectively nudging a very annoyed Freed over to my other side where he'd be out of Bickslow's reach. "Let's keep this fun for everyone."

"What about me? We haven't come across any burning buildings yet and that irks me." Evergreen planted her fists on her hips and turned up her chin, reminding me of a bratty teenager.

"You _want_ to come across a place that's on fire?" Freed's hazel eyes widened and he gave her a bewildered look over his shoulder.

"It would make today a lot more fun." Evergreen shrugged, blinking at him with obvious confusion.

"That's ridiculous!" Bickslow boomed, this time elbowing the brunette. She also stumbled and almost fell, falling behind as she took a moment to regain her balance. "We aren't out here looking for trouble, we're just making sure everything's okay!"

"Sheesh, can you be _any_ louder, Bix?" I asked, teasingly.

"Yes I can!" Bickslow shouted in reply. "This _is_ my quiet voice, believe it or not! You should hear me when I'm screaming!"

"Oh, please don't..." Evergreen groaned, rolling her eyes.

I laughed heartily. My friends were the best.

"Does anyone else smell smoke?" Freed asked.

Suddenly there was the high-pitched sound of a girl screaming bloody murder. I froze for a split second before whirling around to face the sound. A teenager girl, maybe around sixteen years old, came running down the street, shrieking, "FIRE! FIRE!"

"Where?" I demanded to know, raising my voice to get her attention.

She frantically jabbed her finger at a spot off to my left, where a thick curtain of black smoke was rising behind the buildings, maybe a block or two away.

"Well, it seems you got your wish, Evergreen." Freed remarked, coldly.

"No time for it! Let's go!" I took off at a dead run, darting between shops and homes, trying to reach the source of smoke as fast as possible. "Evergreen, Bix! You guys need to work on putting out the fire as fast as you can! Freed, you're with me! We're gonna find as many people as we can and get them out before the building collapses!" I barked, as the smell of ash and burning metal became thick and heavy and the air became hazy from smoke.

"Aye!" Bickslow roared.

A small crowd had gathered at the front of the burning building, which used to be the city hall. Once tall, proud brick walls were blackened and coated with soot. All the windows had exploded, leaving glass shards all over the ground below, as bright orange flames leapt and danced from within, often flickering out of the building for short periods of time as smoke poured off the whole structure in thick veils. I couldn't help but gape. It was terrifying.

"Laxus!" Freed shouted, suddenly appeared beside me like he had a habit of doing. "I can put an enchantment on you that'll keep fire at least five feet away at all times." he told me, practically jumping up and down with anticipation.

"Yes, please." I said, dropping my arms to my sides so he had room to work with.

He hesitated, then began writing the enchantment across my chest, fingers dancing across my shirt in complicated patterns, forming little purple runes that I couldn't read, materializing from thin air. He was frowning with sheer concentration as he worked, and suddenly I found myself thinking he looked kinda cute when he was all worked up and ready for danger.

A moment later, he stepped back and sighed. "There. You should be okay now. Let me put one on myself. Go on in, I'll be right behind you." he gestured to the rapidly growing inferno behind me as he began writing the same enchantment on himself.

"Alright. Be safe." I told him, turning and rushing through the old wood door that was almost burned to shreds into the burning building.

Inside, the smoke was so thick I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. Flames licked at the invisible walls Freed's enchantment had put into place, but fire wasn't allowed within those walls, so they never entered. I pulled the collar of my shirt up over my nose and mouth, coughing uncontrollably as the smoke curtain overwhelmed me and my eyes began to water. The heat was unbearable, even with the enchantment and my dragon slayer skin, which was used to the heat of lightning bolts. The air was so heated it rippled and waved, making the crumpled objects around me dance up and down like sailors on choppy seas.

I ignored the horrible feeling of suffocation and pressed forward, yelling out, "Hello! Is anyone in here? I need to get you out now before the building collapses!"

I heard a muffled response from my left and blindly ran toward it. The glowing, flashing purple runes on my chest pushed back and even extinguished any flames that got in my way.

_Thanks, Freed, you've done well._ I thought, smiling a little as I thought of him.

The response I had heard was from a middle-aged man hiding behind some charred, burnt object that might've been a chair a few hours ago. I hauled him to his feet after making sure he wasn't hurt and guided him to the safe exit near the back of the building, telling him to go see the healers just to make sure he was okay.

I heard soft footsteps creeping off in the distance that might've been Freed- or perhaps it was just another survivor getting themselves to safety.

The smoke was blinding and choking. I couldn't breathe after a few minutes of finding and redirecting survivors. I had to get out. Plus, the ceiling was beginning to crack and crumble and make all sorts of alarming noises. I knew the building was about to collapse. Not even Freed's enchantment would be able to stop it.

"Fuck..." I mumbled, muffled by my shirt, which was now stained with ash.

I glanced behind me, and saw the ceiling beginning to fall apart, as long, jagged cracks snaked up the charred wood surface like lightning bolts. I flinched as there came an unbearably loud screeching sound from above me: the sound of metal scraping against metal. The whole place was gonna fall apart any second now.

It was time to go.

I turned and bolted toward the exit, eyes so dried out and irritated from the smoke they hurt like a bitch. So I closed my eyes and instead trusted my instincts and Freed's powerful enchantment to keep me safe. I tripped over a piece of something hard that dug into my ankle and broke skin, leaving a long scratch. I ignored it and kept running. It was so hot I felt like my skin would start melting off any second. I ignored that too... And kept running.

Finally, I felt cool air on my face and knew I had made it outside.

I opened my eyes and found myself standing outside the building, where I had gone in. The air was thick and hazy with smoke, but out here, it was so goddamn breathable compared to how it had been inside. I gasped and choked, stumbling to my hands and knees as I coughed over and over again, my lungs burning as I tried to get the smoke residue out of my system.

"Laxus! Are you alright?" Evergreen and Bickslow rushed to my side. "We were so worried about you! Bix was about to run in and get you out of there!" the brunette exclaimed, kneeling beside me and laying her palm on my blackened shoulder.

"Y-Yeah... I'm alright..." I reassured, finally managing to stop coughing.

I let Bickslow pull me to my feet and I glanced around, trying to get my bearings back. The building was a burning, blazing, melting mess. It had sunk down way lower than it had been when I entered as it slowly gave out, and the fire roaring out of the windows seemed a lot larger and more aggressive. The creaking and groaning hadn't stopped, it was like the walls themselves were in agony.

I whirled around, my eyes rapidly scanning the muttering crowd around me to make sure all my friends were present.

I could make out Bickslow's hulking shape in the smoke, and Evergreen's smaller, more feminine, winged shape too. I heaved an inward sigh of relief, but then my heart dropped into my stomach as I didn't find the last shape I was hoping to see.

"Where's Freed?" I choked out, around the burning sensation of smoke caught in my throat.

He wasn't with us. The little enchantment wizard was nowhere to be seen. And that terrified me. He was my closest friend, I couldn't lose him!

"What?? I thought he was with you!" Bickslow's jaw dropped open as the same realization hit him.

"We haven't seen him!" Evergreen agreed, voice shrill with panic. "He went in not long after you, and still hasn't come out. Where could he have gone? Maybe there's a back exit somewhere he used?"

"No, he's smarter than that, he would've found his way back to us by now." I whirled around to face the building. _If we're all here... And Freed isn't... That could only mean one thing. He's still in there._ I started running back toward the building, which had been completely engulfed in flames at this point. "I'm gonna go get him. You two stay here, keep each other safe."

"It's too dangerous, Laxus!" Evergreen shot forward and grabbed my shoulder. "I can't lose both of you! Just one is enough for today!"

"Don't you ever say anything like that again! I'm gonna bring him back, it's gonna be fine." I pushed her away, but before I could start running toward the entrance again...

The building collapsed.

The charred walls suddenly caved in and the whole thing gave up, sinking into a twisted mass of burning material and smoking debris. My eyes widened as I watched it happen. I couldn't believe it. Freed was still in there!

_"Freed!"_ I screamed, at the top of my lungs.

There was a long pause, and I didn't stop staring at the burning wreck. I couldn't believe it. Freed was... Was dead? _No._ I couldn't believe it. This was wrong. This was all wrong. It couldn't be real. This had to be a bad dream. _Wake up._

But then...

"Laxus!" a familiar voice cried, coming from the twisted mass of burning building. "Help me!"

"Oh shit, oh fuck, he's alive!" I sprinted toward the wreck with renewed vigor, my eyes practically popping out of their sockets. "He's fucking alive! I'm coming, Freed, just hold on!"

I managed to get into the wreckage through what used to be a window, long since destroyed, the frame stretched out of shape. Fortunately, the building was still in accessible condition, and the collapsing ceiling had smothered some of the inferno. But it was impossible to get through. I pushed past so much wreckage it was unbelievable that this place used to be a building full of people.

"Freed! Where are you?" I called out, raising my voice to ensure he heard me.

"I'm over here!" was the shrill reply. His voice was twisted and high-pitched with pain, I realized. I quickened my pace.

I followed the sound of his voice until another sound became audible: soft sobs. I had found him.

Freed was sprawled on his back, his legs pinned beneath a heavy chunk of ceiling. Another part.of the ceiling, a long, thick wooden beam, lay across his stomach. The poor thing was absolutely panicking.

"Laxus!" he cried, as soon as he realized I was there. "Laxus, please get me out of here! I'm scared, please!"

"It's alright, it's alright. Calm down. I'm gonna get you out of here, okay? Be as still as possible, I don't want to hurt you even worse." I told him, trying to keep my voice calm so he didn't freak out. I was already at his side, trying to determine the best way to lift the chunk of ceiling.

I slid my arms under it and pulled upward, grunting with exertion. That damn thing was heavy! Freed tipped his head back and let out a groan of agony. After heaving on it for a moment, I managed to lift the chunk of ceiling just enough so I could carefully maneuver it away from Freed before setting it down and dusting myself off.

"Almost there." I said, taking care of the wood beam easily.

Once that was gone, I paused a moment to assess his condition. His left leg was a bloody, mangled mess, and in the places where his heavy crimson coat was torn, I could see more blood. Suddenly he coughed a few times, and all that came up was... Blood, and lots of it.

"O-Oh my..." his eyes widened as he touched his hand to the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and realized what it was.

"It's okay, it's okay." I rushed to calm him before he passed out. He looked a lot paler than normal. "Come on, I'm gonna get you out of here. But I need you to relax, okay?" I knelt beside him and slid my arms under his legs and shoulders, scooping him up as gently as possible so I didn't aggravate his injuries.

Freed let out a weak whimper of pain as I stood up, keeping him nestled safely in my arms. I noticed how small and lightweight he was. This wouldn't be hard at all. I took off toward the window I had gotten in through, moving as fast as I could, being careful not to jostle the poor creature I was carrying. The building might collapse even further, and we'd both die with it if it did. I couldn't let that happen. I had to get Freed to safety.

After fighting past mounds of debris and charred bodies, I made it back outside. I wriggled through the misshapen window, beyond excited to make it out. I had managed to save us both, but to me, Freed was more important. If he had died... I never would've forgiven myself for not going after him sooner.

It was even more horrific to think that he would've died alone and scared out of his wits, pinned beneath chunks of the building, trying and failing to escape, completely helpless... I decided it was best to not think about it.

As soon as I made it outside with Freed, we were rushed by Evergreen and Bickslow. Evergreen was crying hysterically with relief that we had made it, Bickslow was absolutely overjoyed and kept raising his massive fists to the sky, whooping as loudly as he could, making my ears ring.

I carried Freed away from the wreckage before sitting down on my knees, holding him in my lap. "The healers should be here soon..." I told him, cradling his limp body to my chest. My shirt was smeared with bright red starbursts of his blood. He'd been coughing up more blood. "I just want to make sure you're not hurt anywhere else. What hurts?" I asked, sliding my hand under his chin and gently tilting it upward so he was looking at me.

He suddenly flinched and I realized I had subconsciously put my hand over his tiny one. He jerked his hand away, mumbling, "Please don't touch my hands..."

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." I apologized, quickly sliding my hand up to clasp his forearm instead. He relaxed a little.

Bickslow appeared at my side. "Is he okay??" he roared.

"He's been coughing up blood and his leg's all messed up... But I think he'll be okay once we get to a healer." I replied, looking up at my extremely beefy friend, whom was squinting at Freed over my shoulder.

"M-My coat's all torn up." Freed remarked, sounding absolutely dismayed and near tears.

"It's alright. We'll get it fixed." I promised, sighing and tilting my head so my cheek was resting on the top of his head.

I was so absolutely overjoyed that he was alive and safe the relief was overwhelming. I wanted to laugh and cry and scream all at the same time. Now that the excitement was all over, I realized how fucking tired and sore I was. I could really go for a nap, I realized. A forty-eight-hour-long nap, to be precise. But hey, all that mattered was I had gotten Freed out of there before something terrible happened to him.

I had managed to save the most important part of my life, and that was all I cared about.

_To be continued..._

**A/N: okay so. This is my first time writing Laxus x Freed. I discovered this ship literally yesterday and was immediately hooked. The truth is, I love Freed, but I didn't realize just how much I admire his character until two days ago, and then I discovered this amazing ship and just had to write something for it XD. I hope it's not too disappointing, I tried really hard lol. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you stick around for the second chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Much love!**


	2. More like falling in love

_"It's gotta be more like falling in love, than something to believe in. More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance. Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now. It's like I'm falling. It's like I'm falling... In love."_

-jasongray, "More Like Falling In Love"

**-**

_Freed POV_

I officially know what the second worst experience of my life is. It's impossible to describe how terrifying and agonizing it is, to be surrounded by flames in a collapsing building, pinned beneath heavy pieces of debris that are completely crushing bones and tendons alike, as white hot pain creeps up on you and slowly picks you apart, piece by piece until all you can do is scream.

I'll never tell what the very worst thing I've ever experienced is, but being trapped in that building... Was the second worst and that's all that matters.

I vaguely remember what happened when the building collapsed. The roof suddenly made a horrible groaning noise and came down on top of me. I remember the excruciating pain that ripped through my left leg and my torso as I was suddenly knocked down to the floor and crushed beneath what used to be the ceiling.

I tried getting out by my own power, but it was too heavy and I was weakened by pain and all the smoke swimming in my lungs. It was terrifying, being completely stuck, my leg being slowly crushed further into the floor, pain and nausea rolling through my body in sickening waves, unable to move as flames sprang up from what was left in the building. My enchantment would ensure the fire didn't touch me, but I knew any minute now the building would come down completely and I'd be crushed to death.

I struggled for what felt like an eternity, until it hurt too badly to even inhale properly. Not that I could anyway, the smoke was suffocating me. And I mean literally suffocating me to death. Every breath I took was more shallow and hurt worse than the one before. My hair was strewn out around me, partially covering my face, absolutely atrociously messy. I could feel warm blood trickling out from beneath the chunk of stone and wood on my mangled leg. I thought I was done for. There was some much pain...

But then I heard the most lovely sound.

_"Freed!"_ Laxus's achingly familiar voice shouted, muffled by the collapsed walls around me.

I nearly fainted with relief. Laxus knew I was still inside, and he was looking for me. "Laxus!" I screamed, at the top of my lungs. "Help me!" my voice became a shriek.

Laxus shouted something I didn't quite understand, it sounded like "fucking alive" and then, "Hang on, Freed, I'm coming!"

I was beginning to panic even though I could hear him pushing his way through the twisted wreck of building. I couldn't breathe, my lungs and throat were burning, and I was in so much pain I wanted to scream and scream until it didn't hurt anymore.

When Laxus found me, I was sobbing almost hysterically from fear and agony, lapsing in and out of unconsciousness. I was so scared, I thought I was going to die before he could get me out.

Next thing I knew, he was carrying me, and we were out of that burning building I hated so much. I just knew everything would be okay after that. Some small part of me had always known he would get me out and make sure I was safe.

Now, I was sitting up in bed, quietly reading a book. I was in the Fairy Tail infirmary, kinda recovering from everything. I had been internally bleeding in several places, and my leg was so completely crushed into a bloody pulp that the healers fixing me had actually run out of magic energy, so they only managed to heal all the internal bleeding and repair some of my damaged leg. Then they ran off to take naps, promising to be back in twelve hours. That was well over three hours ago.

The numbing magic they had put on me to ease the pain was beginning to wear off. I kept wincing and rubbing my thigh as my leg began aching and throbbing. It was really painful, but not as bad as it had been when I was trapped in the building. That was ten times worse.

The book in my hand was written in the ancient rune language I used to write my enchantments, and there was a blanket tucked around my waist, concealing the lump of bandages that was my leg from view. I was honestly quite comfortable and the room was pleasant, with tan walls and a large window on my right side with rays of sunlight pouring through the glass and spilling out on the floor, which was whitewashed wood. My waist-length green hair was tied back in a low ponytail to keep it from getting in my face while I read.

There came a soft knocking at the door and Laxus poked his head around it. I glanced up at him.

"Hey, Freed, I just wanted to check in and make sure you're doing okay." he greeted, smiling and waving one large hand at me. "May I come in?"

"Of course, Laxus. Make yourself at home." I smiled in return and waved him inside, turning my gaze back to my book. "I feel like I should be the one checking in with you. How's everything going out there?" I asked.

"Somewhat decently, I suppose." Laxus strolled in, closing the door behind him. He sat down on the edge of the bed, staring off into a corner of the ceiling as he spoke. "Makarov applauded our bravery for trying to handle the fire, he wasn't upset at all that the building came down. And Evergreen's been worried sick about you."

"Well. That's sweet but I'm alright." I said, turning the page and squinting at the new set of complex runes before me. "Make sure you tell her that next time you see her, it's gonna be another day or two before I'm free to leave."

"I love how you tell me you're alright then immediately follow it with the fact you're not gonna be able to leave this infirmary for a couple days." Laxus sighed and shook his head. "You're such a dork."

"And you're a blockhead." I replied, without skipping a beat.

The truth of the matter was, I had... Conflicted feelings for Laxus. I always believed we were friends, but recently... I don't know how to explain it. It's like... I started blushing sometimes when he spoke to me, and I got all nervous whenever he looked at me and smiled. I felt the need to impress him, to show him I was there and worth something. But I refused to acknowledge the fact I... Might like him in that more-than-just-friends way people are always talking about.

"Do you always tie your hair back when you read?" Laxus suddenly asked, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, I suppose so." I absentmindedly reached behind me and touched the black elastic keeping my hair restrained at the base of my skull, making sure it wasn't coming lose. Already, a few wayward strands had managed to get free and were conveniently settling in my face to annoy me. "It makes my life a lot easier. I'm considering cutting it, though. What do you think?"

"I don't think you should. I like it long." Laxus tilted his head, eyes locked on my hair. I felt like his gaze lingered on me for just a moment too long, but I must've been imagining things because he had already looked away before I could say anything. "I also like it tied back like that." he added.

I felt the warmth creeping into my cheeks and raised my book a little, trying to subtly hide my blush.

"Okay, I guess I'll keep it long than..." I muttered, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"What even are you reading?" Laxus frowned and scooted closer, pulling his feet up on the bed and curling up beside me.

I turned the book so he could see the thin, eloquently drawn purplish-black runes on the yellowing old pages. His frown deepened and he stared at it for a moment, not knowing what to make of it.

"Uhh... How the hell... I can't read whatever language that is, Freed." he finally admit.

I chuckled softly. "I'm one of the only people who can, don't worry. But maybe I could teach you sometime. It's really not hard at all once you get the hang of it..."

"And how did _you_ learn to read and write in runes?" the thunder dragon slayer questioned, leaning closer as he tried to make sense of the glyphs on the pages of my book. "They look like absolute gibberish to me, nothing more."

"Well, you see..." I began to explain, very slowly. "All of us wizards are kinda born with our magical abilities. Just like how Juvia was born with her body being made of solid water, I was born with the ability to read runes. I eventually learned to write them too, and discovered the hard way that you should never write in the air with your finger when it comes to runes or else it casts a spell."

"Ohh... So that's where your magic comes from..." Laxus stared off into space for a moment, processing everything. "It's cool and all that you could just... Read them from the very beginning."

"Thanks." I grinned and showed him the book once again, pointing to a rune shaped like a little squiggly bridge. "You see this one right here? The two vertical lines represent the presence of an "A" but because the little line connecting them is above the halfway point, it's actually a "Y". Pretty interesting, huh?"

"Uhhhh..." Laxus gave me the most confused look I have ever seen in my life. "I doubt I'll remember that. But it's amazing that you can read those damn things because I sure as hell can't."

I laughed at that. "I'm sure with enough hard work and dedication you could learn."

"Those are qualities I don't have, I'm lazy." Laxus leaned back against the headboard of the bed and clasped his arms behind his head.

"Makes sense..." I absentmindedly rubbed my leg as another wave of aching, burning pain rolled through it.

Laxus noticed. He always noticed the little things when it came to me. "Are you alright, Freed?" his goofy grin faded and morphed into a concerned frown, much to my chagrin.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay." I reassured. "Whatever the healers did to numb the pain is wearing off, that's all. But I can live with it, it's not that bad... Yet. Anyway, that's not the point, I'm fine..."

"Freed. The more you sit there and tell me you're fine the less I believe it." Laxus remarked.

"Too bad." I grumbled, turning back to my book.

He plucked it out of my hands and closed it, much to my annoyance. I flinched when his fingers brushed across mine, even for just a second, as he stole my book from me. I quickly recoiled, hiding my hands by crossing my arms. I hated it when people, even Laxus, touched my hands.

"Gimme that back. You don't need to be rude." I gave him what I hoped to be a withering glare, but he wasn't buying it.

"You're so damn stubborn... So no." Laxus replied, evenly. Now he was glaring at my hidden hands. He really did notice everything. His expression softened slightly when he realized I was trying to hide them, to keep them from being touched. "Oh. Did I touch your hands on accident? I'm sorry, Freed..." he softened his voice too, giving me a sympathetic look.

"I-It's alright. I know you didn't mean to." I turned away, sighing softly. I glanced down at my concealed hands. Sometimes I hated them. "Really, it's no big deal."

"Speaking of which... I know this might seem nosy... But why don't you let anyone touch your hands?" Laxus asked, keeping his voice soft and tentative, as if he knew I wasn't gonna like the question.

I stared at the window for a second, watching white specks of dust float lazily toward the ground in the golden sunlight, trying to follow the complicated patterns with my eyes. I had always known this question would be impossible to avoid, it had to be asked someday. I was honestly grateful that Laxus had resisted the urge to ask for fourteen years straight.

Laxus was staring at me, and I realized I had been silent for at least a full minute now. He poked my forearm. "Hey. Silence is not an answer." he said.

"S-Sorry." I tried to collect my thoughts together and said, "The thing with my hands... T-That's a story I'll never tell."

"Okay. That's fine." Laxus slid his strong hand under my chin so he could gently turn my head and tilt it upward, making me look him in the eye. I saw worry and compassion in those beautiful golden orbs set into his skull, and tried my hardest not to blush. "But I hope you know that if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here for you. Okay?"

I swallowed hard and nodded my head. "Okay."

Slowly, I uncurled my hands from where they were tucked under my arms, stuffed between my biceps and my ribs, relaxing a little. There was no reason to keep hiding them, I decided. My friend seemed satisfied by the small gesture and smiled a little.

"You're extremely brave, Freed. I'm lucky to have a friend like you." He told me.

For some reason, the word _friend_ hurt me. I felt like he had taken a knife and stabbed it into my heart, but I didn't know why. I winced a little but managed an inconspicuous smile. "T-Thanks, Laxus... I feel the same about you." _I need to stop lying. Especially to him. I should never lie to Laxus. _

There was dead silence for a long while. I was trying my hardest to keep a straight face rather than allowing a hurt frown to cloud my features. I couldn't imagine having to explain to Laxus why I looked like I was about to cry.

"Freed?" Laxus called out, after the silence had become unbearable.

I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding and glanced at him. "Yes?" I reached up and began pulling the elastic out of my hair, letting it tumble down my shoulders to my waist like it always did. "Since you're obviously not planning on giving my book back, I'm gonna stop holding my own hair hostage."

Laxus chose that exact moment to set my book in my lap. I threw him a look, but he wasn't even looking at me so he missed it entirely. "Have you ever let anyone touch your hands before?"

I immediately recognized his ploy to try and get enough information to accurately guess what had happened to me, and I wasn't having it. "When I was very young, yes. But that was years ago. And a lot has changed since then." I replied, tersely.

"Oh." the dragon slayer shot me a weird look out of the corner of his eye.

I shook my head and opened my book, flipping through the thin, fragile pages, trying to find where I had left off. The runes all pieced themselves together in my head to form actual words that made sense, symbols, letters, numbers and every other component that forms literature. Laxus watched curiously for a moment, and once I had found the right spot and continued to read, he scooted closer so he was shoulder to shoulder with me.

It brought more color to my cheeks. _He doesn't realize it but he seems to insist on tormenting me with little things that make me question if he actually just wants to be friends or perhaps... Something much more..._

"What does that say?" he asked, tilting his head to one side like a curious puppy.

"Hmm?" I glanced at him briefly before my eyes darted back to the glowing purple runes on the page. "Oh. This. It says _'love is the most beautiful of all things because it is indeed love. It has no limits, boundaries or restrictions. Those true of heart understand that none should be judged because their one true love looks or acts different, or is of the same gender.'"_ I read out loud the entire page, barely stopping to breathe.

"What kind of book even is that?" Laxus wrinkled his nose as he glared at the book, trying and failing to make sense of the complex symbols on the page.

I sighed, slightly annoyed. "It's a book written on the vast concept of love, baka."

"I'm... Surprised you'd want to read about something like that." He sidled just a little closer so he could squint at the runes.

"I do rather enjoy books like this. They are so full of emotion it's absolutely beautiful. The authors are incapable of lying when they write in runes, so everything in these pages is pure and true." I explained, turning the page and continuing to read.

"You're such a nerd." he remarked, before hesitating and giving me a goofy smile. "But you should let me braid your hair while you read to me."

"Nani??" I was completely taken aback by his sudden request and whirled to face him, this time unable to stop the blood from rushing to my face full force and turning my cheeks a delicate pink color. "Since when do you know how to braid?"

"I have a little cousin. She's ten now, but when she was super little, I taught myself to braid so I could teach her." Laxus told me, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture. "And you need to tie your hair back when you read anyway so it doesn't annoy you. Might as well make something productive out of it."

I rolled my eyes, pretending to be exasperated even though I was absolutely enthralled on the inside. "Alright. I suppose." I slowly turned so my back was facing him and returned to my book.

I read out loud in a steady, unwavering voice as he gently finger-combed my long hair before starting on one long, thick braid that trained down the middle of my back like a second spine. A green spine. The thought made my lips twitch upward in something of an amused smile.

Laxus seemed genuinely interested in the book. I knew he was listening, because his gentle fingers would pause occasionally in the middle of braiding as he contemplated what he had just heard. And I really enjoyed sharing something like this with him, I loved my books so much and had never thought he'd enjoy them any. Philosophy just wasn't his thing. Yet he still managed to appreciate this moment.

"I honestly don't know much about love..." Laxus admit to me as I paused to take a breath. He began gathering up loose strands of hair from the nape of my neck and gathering them into the tight braid he had assembled. I couldn't help but hum contentedly as his fingers brushed across my skin, the touch surprisingly soft and sweet. "It's kinda interesting, listening to what the smart people have to say about it."

"You are smart, Laxus. You just put your big brain energy into other things." I shook my head slightly, smiling a little. "Like electricity for example. And who knew a tough guy like you could braid?"

"Nobody knows, other than my cousin." Laxus chuckled softly, his voice sending shivers down my spine. "I honestly really like how your book lays down the concept that you shouldn't be judged based off your personal love interests."

"Me too." I said, but on the inside I was screaming, _if only you knew..._ "It's always somewhat refreshing to read books like this."

He finally tied off the long braid and flipped it over my shoulder so I could see. It was perfectly woven, shockingly well-done. Plus, I had to admit. The soft, earthy green color of my hair looked great braided up like this.

"I'm done." he said, simply.

"It looks awesome." I replied, honestly.

There was absolute silence once again. It annoyed me because I didn't understand it. Laxus was so loud and outgoing and conspicuous that literally everyone had voted him as extrovert of the year during the holidays. The fact he was exercising his stunning lack of ability to be silent... Was unsettling to say the least...

"Why so quiet?" I asked, daring to disturb the peace.

"I'm just thinking about everything I heard from that book. It kinda made me question some things about myself, to be completely honest with you..." Laxus trailed off with a slightly nervous laugh.

_Like what?_ I wanted so badly to ask, but I instead nodded and said, "Literature often has that effect on me, too."

For whatever reason, the silence amplified my other senses. Laxus's spiky blonde hair, well-tanned skin rippling with corded muscles, and well-defined, sharp facial features all stood out to me in sharp contrast with the rest of the room. The long, jagged brown scar twisting over his eye like a lightning bolt also stood out, but even that looked beautiful and charming on his face.

I returned my attention to my book, only to realize we were done reading together for the time being. "Do you want me to stop reading this book unt you're in the mood to read it with me?" I called out, glancing at the dragon slayer.

"It would be nice if you waited for me. I do like it a lot. And it's super cool that it's written in runes but you can read it out loud with absolutely no trouble at all." Laxus beamed as he praised my reading skills. I blushed and waved him off, smiling, but he continued. "Your voice didn't shake and you never once stumbled. It's really impressive, Freed. That's quite the gift you have."

"It's really not." I shrugged, trying my hardest to be modest about this whole thing. "I'm not that special, really. With enough hard work and dedication, absolutely anyone here, not just the wizards, could read, speak in and write with runes."

"Hmm." Laxus considered it for a moment before laughing. "Unfortunately I'm too lazy to even know what the definition of hard work is, so maybe you can teach me when I'm not so lazy."

"In other words, never." I chuckled, closing my book and setting it down on the the bed near his leg.

"Exactly, bruh. Now, I'm really sorry but I'm gonna go let Bix and Evergreen know you're okay and make sure they're getting on alright without me." Laxus slowly rose to his feet, obviously hesitant about leaving me by myself. "Will you be okay on your own for a bit?"

"Yeah, definitely. Go." I nodded, and he gave me a grateful smile as he hurried out, closing the door behind him.

Now that I was alone, the silence that settled over me was absolutely deafening. I slowly lay down on my back, being careful not to aggravate my injured leg, which was throbbing painfully. Staring up at the ceiling, I quickly became lost in my own train of thought.

_Well, that was interesting... I do wonder what he meant by things he's reconsidering about himself... _My mind immediately began replaying my conversation with Laxus. _He's perfect just the way he is, I don't know what he'd want to change. Or even consider changing. So what's his opinion of love, than? He admit it himself, he doesn't know much about it... But I wonder where he stands in the matter. Perhaps... Perhaps maybe someday he'll develop feelings for me. Then what would happen?_

I realized I was letting my mind wander too much and groaned, covering my face with both hands, flustered by my own stupidity. "Go away, gay thoughts..." I mumbled, entirely to myself, pressing the heels of my hands against my closed eyelids.

Still, I couldn't shake the warm memories that kept crashing over me. Laxus's gentle fingers combing through my hair as I read out loud to him. The way he smiled when he was telling me how much he liked the book. And then the way he laughed when he called me a nerd and asked to braid my hair, which was both the weirdest and the sweetest request I have ever gotten in my life. It was such a strange, beautiful, sweet moment. I wanted to remember it, to cherish it forever, because finally, all my hard work was paying off and I had achieved something of a close bond with Laxus.

...But I wanted to forget it because I knew I was overthinking things and getting my own hopes up for no reason. He was just being a good friend, trying to help me feel better while I was injured, almost completely incapacitated and unable to walk. He was also being clingy because he was probably still in shock from thinking I had died when the building came down on top of me. I'll admit, I thought I was dead too, so it was a very logical explanation. There was no way in hell Laxus could ever love or even notice someone like me.

_Laxus is... Well, he's Laxus. Tall, smart, strong, good-looking, and wildly extroverted. He's the kind of person other people wanna be around and be friends with. He's the kind of person to selflessly run into burning, collapsing buildings to save his friends. And I... I am just Freed. Shy, quiet, silly little Freed who always has his nose stuck in a book. Who could ever love someone like me? Certainly not Laxus. That is a certainty. I'm not even worthy of his attention anyway..._

I sighed sadly and folded my hands neatly over my chest. My hands that I never let anyone touch. I hated them. With a burning passion. Sometimes I wished I could just cut them off, but without my hands, I couldn't use my magic, which required being able to write somewhat efficiently and quickly in the ancient, elegant language of runes. I wished I could find a way to help Laxus understand why I was the way I was, but I didn't know how.

So I guess I'd have to be content with going by unnoticed and unloved for the rest of my life. It didn't seem so bad, really. Not like it was anything I wasn't already used to, or anything...

_To be continued..._

**A/N: Okay so that's the end of this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm actually having so much fun writing this, I put a lot of care and effort into these chapters. In fact I've been putting a lot of other things off just to do this fic, including neglecting my other fics (whoops). Oh well, I guess this is what happens when I fall in love with a new ship to the point where it's actually bad for my health... Anyway, thanks so much for reading! See you next chapter! **


	3. The five love languages

_"And when did I forget that I was made to love you, I was made to find you, I was made just for you, made to adore you, I was made to love... And be loved by you." _

-tobymac, "Made To Love"

**-**

_Laxus POV_

I was so sure I knew exactly who I was when it came to romance. I always thought I'd just go through life, date some chicks, eventually find one that I really liked, and settle down with her. I'd have a family and at least two beautiful children, none of which I expected to be dragon slayers. Pretty simple, right?

But then Freed told me otherwise.

How did he do it? By reading out loud to me from a book on the philosophy of love. Not just love as a concept or stereotype or emotion, but what it really was as an invisible, unstoppable force. From what I heard, love can apply to anything or anyone, but it isn't true unless the feelings are reciprocated. One-sided love is hardly love at all.

The author shared his personal belief that everyone has just one person in the entire universe that is meant to be theirs. If their paths cross, they fall for each other. Next thing you know, they're happily married. I didn't really hear everything he said at that part because I was really concentrating on the braid I was doing, but I know it had something to do with a sort of soulmate concept. One person destined for another. Two souls destined to intertwine. But... They had to find each other.

The book also discussed what happens when you meet that person. And that was where I began to question everything. I clearly remember every word he said at that point.

"When one stumbles across their soulmate, there will be mutual attraction for each other. They usually form a very strong bond and become extremely close friends, trusting only the other with everything." Freed had read, his voice strong and unwavering. I couldn't help but notice how soft and silky his long green hair was as my fingers wove it together into a tightly plaited braid. "Typically one strives to serve the other in any way, shape or form, with undying loyalty and dedication, while the other provides shelter, protection, and tender, gentle affection, as well as a strong, sturdy shoulder to lean on, to cry on."

For some reason this description sounded vaguely familiar, and hit too close to home. But I couldn't place my finger on what the problem was right away.

Freed continued to list off the different kinds of pairings when it came to true soulmates. There were some aggressive, some soft and gentle, and some asexual ones that never extended past friendship without any sort of physical contact whatsoever. But my mind kept circling back to the one that I still remember ver batum.

Only when he stopped reading and I had left the room did it hit me like a slap to the face. A slap to the face with a brick that's been exposed to Gray's ice magic overnight, that is.

I remember I was walking out to the open cafe of Fairy Tail to meet Evergreen and Bickslow, feeling somewhat content, thinking everything was right with the world. For some reason, the feeling of Freed's silky hair lingered on my fingers and his words rang in my ears like a bell.

"Someone who willingly and gladly serves the other like there's no tomorrow, eh?" I muttered, entirely to myself. The long sandstone hallway was empty so nobody heard me. "Now who does that remind me of?"

Suddenly an image from my memory flashed before my eyes. Freed shouldering the stack of papers I had asked him to give to Makarov for me, giving me a sweet, charming smile as he waved goodbye and left the room. _He was so goddamn willing to do any and everything at my beck and call. All I had to do was ask and he'd be right there at my side, eager to help in any way he could. Tireless loyalty. _

...then it hit me.

_What the hell?! _I stumbled and nearly fell, my shoulder slamming into the nearest wall, sending a bolt of pain shooting up my arm.

I grimaced and rubbed my shoulder, brow furrowed with concern.

_Freed._

After standing there for a moment in stunned silence, my arm aching dully, I shook my head to clear it and kept walking.

_I'm thinking too much into things. There's no way in hell Freed and I are meant to be, or whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. I like girls... Don't I?_ I took a moment to think as I walked. I'd had a few girlfriends over the years. And I had thought I was happy with them. _But then I realized within a year that I wasn't... Satisfied. Always feeling like something was missing, something was wrong, the relationship just wasn't working out... _

I sighed and tried to stop thinking like that. There was no way I was gay. Or bi. Or any of those sexualities. I was a hundred and ten percent straight. Or so I thought.

I groaned and intentionally smacked my head against the nearest wall, trying to knock some sense into myself. "Stop questioning your goddamn sexuality." I chastised myself.

"Laxus?" a soft, familiar voice called out.

My head snapped up. Mirajane was standing across the hall, looking at me with concern in her sparkling sapphire eyes. She was tall, only half a head shorter than me, with long silvery-white hair, a very curvaceous build, and a long red dress that swirled elegantly around her feet when she walked. Her milky white skin combined with a perfect complexion and her ever-present gentle smile made her practically glow in the dim light.

"Hey, Mira." I leaned casually against the wall, trying to play it cool.

"You seem rather distressed. Are you alright?" she asked, tilting her head to one side sympathetically.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just... A bit confused right now." I offered her a lazy smile, trying to seem fine without actually being fine. How on earth do people fake smiles?

"What about?" she pressed for answers, taking a couple tentative steps closer. "You can talk to me if you need to, Laxus. I'm here for you."

It was extremely tempting. Mirajane was the big sister of the guild, always looking after everyone and protecting them, giving them someone to talk to when they needed support. She was a really good listener. I had ranted to her about how my life was going before, so I knew she was trustworthy.

"Well. I've gotta find Ever and Bix right now, but maybe tonight when I come by to get a drink." I said, waving a hand dismissively. "Thanks, Mira. I really appreciate it.

"Alright. I'll hold you to that. See you tonight!" she waved her hand in a cheerful goodbye as she turned and walked away.

I didn't bother responding. I was glad she had found me, even if I couldn't talk about everything right away. Her presence had provided a distraction from what was going on, and even when I started thinking about it again, it didn't seem nearly as bad anymore. Mira would understand, she had battled with her feelings for Erza before finally giving in and asking the pretty redheaded warrior out. Erza had accepted, but they broke up six months later because Erza had developed feelings for Jellal. Mira handled it like a champ, as expected, and just kept smiling like nothing happened.

I really looked up to Mirajane. She was the kind of person I wished I could be. _For Freed._ A small voice whispered in the back of my head.

I told it to shut the hell up.

**-**

That night, I entered the open cafe after checking up on Freed. I had promised myself I would only stay for a few minutes, but a few minutes turned into an hour because although he was the source of my confusion, his presence calmed me. There was just something about his sweet, charming smile that instantly quieted every negative thought brewing in my head. I had been the one talking to him for most of the time, filling him in on everything that had gone on and kinda expressing my frustration with Evergreen and her rapidly growing craving for destruction.

Freed, being the shy, quiet little creature he was, listened intently the entire time as he practiced writing some runes in the air with his nimble fingers. He was a great listener, and I felt fully comfortable telling him everything that was on my mind.

...Everything except for what was currently bothering me.

I didn't want to bring it up to him in case my odd feelings weren't legit. I didn't want to hurt him in any way by assuming I was in love with him rather than just being clingy after surviving a traumatizing experience with him. I also didn't want to make things awkward and ruin our friendship. He was so important to me that I was afraid to risk it.

He looked extremely crestfallen when I announced I had to leave for my meeting with Mirajane.

"Oh... You're leaving already?" he had asked, his face falling.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I've gotta go meet up with Mira. But don't worry, I'll come back, hopefully before you fall asleep." I promised, as I stood up from where I had been sitting on the edge of the bed. "Do you wanna read some more when I get back?" I offered.

His shimmering hazel eyes lit up with excitement. "I think I'd like that. Thank you, Laxus." he nodded sincerely.

That's another thing I loved about him, I realized. He never lied, he was always genuine and sincere. Rune writers are bound by their word in every aspect so he could never bring himself to lie.

I quickly left the room before I could keep thinking about him. Now that our time together was over, I felt the weight of my confusion crashing in on me once again. There were so many things I loved about him and he was the only person I could confidently say I was somewhat affectionate with. Why?

The question lingered heavily in the air as I all but sprinted to the open cafe where Mira was standing at the counter along the left wall, serving up drinks to everyone. When she saw me approaching, she quickly handed off her drink to Cana before shooing everyone away from the busy counter. As I drew near, I could hear her high-pitched, motherly voice saying, "Shoo! Run along, now. Get out of here. Get!"

Mages scattered in all directions. Nobody ever told Mira no, mainly because she was so sweet, and also because she could be scary as fuck when she got mad. Freed knew firsthand just how terrifying her demon form was, and... _Stop thinking about Freed, dammit!_ I mentally kicked myself.

I took a seat at the counter, sitting on a tall stool directly in front of Mira. She leaned on the counter and offered me a gentle smile.

"Alright, Laxus, you're gonna tell me what's wrong and you're gonna let me help you fix it." she said, her tone sugary sweet like that of a mother teaching her child something new.

I nodded. "You have yourself a deal."

"Perfect. Now, what's bothering you?"

I immediately poured it all out, keeping my voice low in case a nosy guild member was lurking nearby. I explained what I had learned from Freed reading to me, and that it struck way too close to home because I had been feeling these things about him lately. Mira listened intently, occasionally nodding slightly in response to something I had said, a small frown crossing her face. I could tell she was processing every word, trying to figure things out.

"I'm sorry it's such a vague description, but I'm so confused right now. I've always considered myself to be completely straight, but then Freed had to come along and... And make me question everything with his stupid, adorable face." I finished, breathlessly.

"Huh. And what does his face have to do with any of this?" Mira chuckled, tipping her chin forward.

"I don't know, it's just... When he smiles, it makes me feel things. I'm not sure how to describe it, it's like this glowing sensation in my chest." I sighed and rubbed my forehead with one hand, palm sliding over my skin.

"And that's perfectly normal, Laxus. You don't have to be ashamed of the fact that you obviously have a thing for him." Mirajane remarked.

_Wait... WHAT???_

"Whoa, whoa, I don't have a thing for him, what the hell?" I exclaimed, jerking back a little, shocked and flustered. My cheeks were bright red, much to my chagrin.

"Calm your ass down." she laughed, shaking her head as if disappointed. "What you're experiencing is completely normal. Literally everything you just told me screams 'I love him, I wanna be with him'. Now, I know a thing or two about love myself. You think it's easy being the face of Fairy Tail? People are all over me simply because I'm beautiful, admittedly so. Because of that, when I was younger I fell into a lot of fake relationships with guys who only wanted me for my looks and nothing else. And some of the experiences I had with those guys are the reason I'm lesbian now, so you can thank my own job position for that..." she trailed off, giving me a moment to let her words sink in.

"Shit." I mumbled, my embarrassment fading to sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Mira, nobody should ever have to go through that."

"Indeed." she nodded, smiling sadly, her deep blue eyes staring right through me as if she could read my mind. "But my point still stands, you have feelings for Freed. Just admit it, it'll go over much easier that way. It'll be harder to get used to if you keep denying it."

"B-But... He's a... Guy..." I shook my head, absolutely dismayed.

"What's so wrong with that?" she asked, propping her chin up on her hand.

I thought about it for a moment and grimaced, realizing my mistake. "N-Nothing, really..." I admit, sheepishly. "I just... I always thought I was... Straight."

"Laxus. Nobody gets to decide who they'll fall in love with." Mira told me, her voice gentle but firm. "It's not a choice we make. Hell, getting to pick and choose who we love isn't love at all. True love happens when you least expect it. You've fallen for that special someone in your life, don't pass up this chance to explore all that this has to offer for you."

I was silent for a long time, thinking it over. Me, Laxus Dreyar, in love with Freed Justine. It sounded terrifying and amazing at the same time. I wasn't sure if I wanted to dive right into it or run as fast and as far as I could.

_Maybe I'll give it a chance._

"Freed loves you, ya know..." Mira remarked, straightening up and walking a couple paces away to make me a drink.

"Nani?" my head shot up and I gave her a glare. "He does? Since when?"

"Since... Years, Laxus." Mira sighed, almost sadly. "Do you have any idea how many times he's sat right where you are now and told me all about how amazing you are? You're not the only one who tells me things around here, he too has a habit of coming to me when he needs to talk about anything at all. I seem to recall him saying he's always bending over backward to do things for you, even just silly little things, hoping that someday you'll notice him."

"Huh. That makes no sense. Why would he do all of this for me?" I questioned, putting one finger over my mouth as I thought about it.

"There are five love languages, Laxus. Words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time and physical touch." Mira counted them off on her fingers, smiling as she did. "Mine is a weird mix between quality time and words of affirmation. Yours is physical touch, I've observed. And Freed's... Is acts of service."

"What does that have to do with anything? I had no idea love was a language." I gave her a genuinely curious look.

"The love languages are basically just the unique ways we express love for someone else. Freed shows you he loves you by serving you in any way he can, hence the acts of service thing." she explained, beaming like a little sun angel at noon. "Seeing as you had no preknowledge of love languages, I don't blame you for never noticing."

"Well, I noticed. I just didn't think it was like that. I always wondered why he did it." I shrugged. "But now... That makes a lot of sense. You mean to tell me he's been struggling to get my attention this entire time?"

"Yeah, and because you're a physical contact person, you didn't really think much of it." Mira confirmed it with a slight incline of her chin. "Which isn't your fault at all, I wouldn't have noticed either if it weren't for the fact he's talked to me about it... A lot." she added the last part hesitantly, as if not sure if she should be talking about it.

"Really? How often is a lot?" I demanded to know, my tone sharpening unexpectedly. _Just how long have I been ignoring Freed for??_

"Eh... Maybe once or twice a month." she winced.

"Whoa. Okay. I really need to do something about it then." this whole discussion was making me see Freed in a new light. All the little things he did were done because he loved me. And that made my heart ache with longing. Longing to return the favor for years and years of undying service and loyalty. Of sincere devotion and practically shackling himself to me so he could do whatever I asked when I asked for it to be done. All of which were driven by love. "I can't let him go on like this, such one-sidedness can't be healthy for him."

"I've told him the same thing. Many, many times." the silver-haired girl sighed, shaking her head. "But he never listened, which really says a lot about him. He never gives up, and even if it is one-sided, he's never gonna stop loving you. You really mean something to him, Laxus. More than you can imagine, I'm sure."

I paused for a moment, contemplating this vast reality I had just been slapped in the face with. I had feelings for Freed, and he'd had them for me for such a long time. Suddenly all his strange behaviors were beginning to make sense. And it was so strange and difficult to wrap my head around.

"Alright... Well... I'll need some time to think about what I'm going to do about this. About him." I slowly rose to my feet, ignoring the untouched drink Mira had placed in front of me at some point during our conversation. "Anyway. I promised him I'd come back to read with him, and he's waiting for me. I'd better get going." I started walking away, waving goodbye to Mirajane, who smiled warmly. "Thanks, Mira! I'll see you around!"

"Bye, dear! Thanks for chatting with me!" She called out as I turned and hurried into the guild, making a beeline for the infirmary.

I found Freed right where I had left him, sitting up in bed with his books. There were three beside him and one in his hand, which was different from the one he and I were reading together.

"Hey, nerd." I greeted as I came in and found my usual seat on the edge of the bed. "How the hell did you get all those books in here while I was gone?"

He chuckled softly as he turned the page of the book in his hand. "I had Gray bring them in for me, he knows where my secret stash of books is. He also brought me my violin and I practiced for a bit on that." he gestured to the little instrument, which was leaning up against the wall under the window.

"You're really quite good with that violin." I told him, smiling warmly. "And I don't think I've ever heard you sing before, but I think you'd be good at that too."

"Hah. Trust me, you _don't _want to hear me sing. I sound atrocious." he shook his head, his eyes glued to the book he held.

For the first time ever, I allowed myself to look him over with the intent of deciding if I was attracted to him physically or not. Everything about Freed was soft and well-defined. His smooth, perfect pale skin, his glittering, slanted hazel eyes that never could seem to decide if they wanted to look brown, green or blue, his waist-length green hair that was still tied back in the braid I had done earlier. After looking over him once, I decided he was absolutely gorgeous. He really was.

Freed finally glanced up at me, having sensed my eyes on him. "What's up?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry. Just lost in thought, I guess." I scooted closer to him and asked, "You wanna read more of that book to me?"

"Yes, of course!" his whole perfect face lit up and he scrambled to put the book he had been reading off to the side, making way for the other one, which was buried beneath two others, all of which were written in languages I couldn't understand. "I've been so excited to read this with you, you have no idea." he admit, shyly.

_I know a lot more than you think I do,_ I wanted to say, but I wisely kept my mouth shut and instead said, "Me too, I'm really enjoying it."

He carefully flipped through the delicate book until he found where we had left off, pausing for a moment to look over the complicated runes inked into the page before looking at me and saying, "This chapter's very philosophical."

"I am ready." I told him, grinning widely.

He nodded and returned his attention to the book, beginning to read out loud from the page. I couldn't help myself and got a little closer, once again trying my luck at reading those indecipherable runes. It was no good, but now... I was close enough that all I had to do was reach out and I'd be touching Freed. For whatever reason, that brought a warm blush to my cheeks.

I tried my hardest to listen to what the smaller boy was reading, but I was extremely unfocused because I was too busy contemplating the ways I could repay him for everything he'd done for me. He'd done so much, too much. I felt extremely indebted to him. I wanted to try and fix the years I had been neglecting him.

Acting on impulse, I reached out and snaked my arms around his slim waist, pulling him backward so he was sitting in my lap. He gasped and whirled to face me, eyes wide with bewilderment. We stared at each other for a moment before I shrugged and said, "Keep reading, baka."

He blinked a couple times, frowning slightly. He was trembling, just a little, but I noticed right away. "O-Okay..." he turned back to the book, albeit a bit hesitantly. He cleared his throat nervously before continuing to read, but now his voice was a lot quieter than normal and he was stammering.

I kept my my arms around him, propping my chin up on his shoulder and looking down at the book. There was something about holding him close that made me feel satisfied, content, like everything was right with the world. If Freed had an issue with what was going on, he didn't voice it. He just kept reading, trying to pretend nothing was happening.

I noticed for the first time that he smelled like lavender, soft and earthy and soothing. It was almost embarrassing, knowing he had always been like this, waiting here for me, and I had missed it for so long. I had unknowingly deprived myself of his beautiful, gentle, patient perfection. But now... I was here, I knew everything.

"Freed?" I called out tentatively, as I gently plucked the book out of his tiny hands. I was careful not to touch him on accident, I knew how sensitive he was when it came to his hands, and the last thing I wanted was to make accidental contact and make him immediately uncomfortable.

"Yes?" he glanced over his shoulder at me, peering at me with wide, intelligent hazel eyes.

"I've really missed everything, haven't I? Thank you for being... Being awesome, wonderful, lovely you. I don't think I would've made it this far in life if it weren't for you and all the ways you make my life better... And worth living. Thank you for all the joy you've brought me." I said, sincerely.

Even from behind, I saw him blush slightly. "You're... W-Welcome." he replied, seeming a bit confused. "I don't understand. Why here? Why now?"

"Let's just say I've had a bit of an eye-opener." I chuckled and nuzzled my face into his warm shoulder. He shivered at the contact. "And now I feel like I finally understand why you do what you do."

"R-Really?" his eyes widened and he tried to wriggle out of my grasp, startled. "I-I really should be getting some rest, those healers will be back any minute now to finish fixing my leg..." he was stammering wildly as he nudged me off him.

Completely confused, I backed off a bit and scooted away from him. "Are you alright?"

"S-Sorry, I know I'm being such a k-killjoy..." he wrung his hands nervously, refusing to meet my gaze. The sudden change in mood was almost painful.

"No, you're really not. Don't worry. It's getting late and you're probably exhausted and hurting." I slowly rose to my feet, putting on what I hoped was a convincing smile. "When I come back in here, I hope you'll be able to walk out with me. Ever and Bix are so excited to see you again."

"Hmph." he huffed, crossing his arms defiantly, keeping his gaze locked on his legs. "They should've come by to visit rather than being lazy and getting all their info from you."

"Indeed." I laughed, but it wasn't genuine. I was really worried. _Have I gone too far already?_ "Alright so, I'll see you tomorrow. What time should I come by?"

"Just... When you wake up, I guess, as long as that isn't stupidly early." Freed replied, continuing to fidget beneath his folded arms, thinking I didn't see. But I did. He wasn't really okay.

I decided it was best to just leave him alone for the night. He'd be okay in the morning. "Alright, then. It's settled. Goodnight, Freed." I waved over my shoulder as I walked to the closed door and yanked it open.

"Goodnight, Laxus." he still wouldn't look at me.

I hurried out, closing the door again behind me. From there, I went right to my dorm room, which was only a short walk away. I was exhausted too, I really wanted to sleep. But for several minutes I wasn't able to.

I was tossing and turning, contemplating everything that had just happened. Freed had gotten extremely shy and closed-off, almost bitter. He didn't want to be touched, or talked to. Hell, he didn't even want me in the room. Regardless of how nice and casual and _normal_ he had been, his body language said it all. He was freaking out. I knew anxiety when I saw it. _But... Why?_

I replayed what had happened in my head, trying to pinpoint the exact moment he had started acting like that. It was when I told him I knew why he always scrambled around like crazy to help me in any way possible. _I told him I knew he loved me in a subtle way... And he panicked._

That small fact made me feel a lot better about the whole thing. _I'm not the problem. He's just spooked because I've realized his feelings for me and he's shy and quiet so he doesn't really know how to deal with it. That's why he pushed me away so quickly. That's why he wouldn't even look at me. That's why he didn't want me anywhere near him, he was afraid of what I might say next. Perhaps he was worried I'd reject him or hurt him in some way. I can't say I blame him, love is a scary motherfucker sometimes... _ I thought, as I yawned loudly and rolled over onto my side, relaxing a little.

My exhaustion returned full-force now that I had an idea of what was going on, what had happened. It only took me approximately thirty seconds after that to fall asleep.

But my slumber was light and restless, and I was plagued all night by horrifying nightmares, some gleaned from the past, others completely made up.

_Freed, trapped under burning debris in a collapsing building, screaming for me until his voice was gone, sobbing, begging for someone, anyone, to help him. I saw the blood, it was everywhere, and he was obviously scared but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't run to him and get him out of there. The smell of death lingered heavily in the air around me, I was almost choking on it. But I couldn't move. I had to watch, horrified, as Freed's desperate, feeble struggles became weaker and weaker until finally... His entire body went limp and his last breath came out in the form of a soft sigh, barely audible above the crackling roar of flames around me and the screaming of a frightened little girl outside. He was gone, his beautiful hazel eyes staring sightlessly up at a sky he'd never see again... But the sky was gray and heavy with smoke, and the world was empty now because Freed was no longer part of it. All the colors slowly bled away until everything, even the rapidly growing flames around me, was black and white. All darkness, all pain, all sadness and fear._

_This is why I am glad I saved him. When I wake up from this stupid dream, he's gonna be right there in the infirmary, waiting for me. Think about his scent. Subtle, sweet lavender. It suits him. _

I became aware that I was only half asleep now, the nightmares were over and I was still nestled safely in my own bed. Freed was alive, everything was okay. The smell of lavender was branded into my mind. I fell asleep again to that smell, which brought peace to my mind and relaxation and comfort to my body.

_I think I love him._ My inner voice whispered as I slipped into the land of dreams once again.

_Shut up,_ I told it.

**\- **

**A/N: Damn. I wrote this chapter hella quickly so I'm sorry for any typos you may have stumbled across. I'll go through and fix everything tomorrow, I promise. Tonight im too tired and lazy XD. So yeah. Thank you so much for stopping by, please follow and review this fic for me! It makes me happy when I see your reviews, I take all of them to heart because i genuinely appreciate you. What you have to say is important to me, I wanna listen. So yeah leave a review XD lol. I'll stop harassing you about reviews and go to bed lol. Goodnight! Thanks for stopping in!**

**_-UltimatexAdmin_**


	4. I can't describe how much I love you

_"When I'm standing near you, I can't get my words out, like I fear you, being in your shadow..."_

-Triplo Max, "Shadow"

**-**

_Freed POV_

I didn't get any sleep that night because of the healers coming and going, mending the last of the damage to my leg. It wasn't painful at all because they made sure to numb it, but I couldn't sleep for other reasons.

Laxus knew. He _knew._

And that little fact in itself was enough to scare the living daylights outta me. I had been so anxious and afraid that I promptly shooed him out of the room, making up a lame excuse for wanting to rest before the healing process continued. Fortunately, he seemed to understand and left right away, leaving me to chastise myself for being so stupid.

_He knows I love him... And he doesn't have a problem with it? He would've said something if it made him uncomfortable or anything, he's a very vocal guy who is not afraid to voice his concerns... Right?_

Still, there was the nagging doubt in the back of my mind that kept me from sleeping that night.

_What if he isn't okay with it and he's just trying and failing to let me down gently? _

There was one thing I knew for sure: when I saw him tomorrow, I had to say something about this. I couldn't keep running from it. Especially not after he knew. It was like trying to hide behind a glass wall.

But what was I going to say?

How was I going to just ask if he was okay with me being the way I was? It seemed so awkward and nerve-wracking that it drove me crazy. But by the time the sun came up, I was able to walk again, and everything was back to normal.

It was still pretty early when there came a soft knock on the door. "Freed? Are you awake yet, sweetie?" Mirajane's familiar voice called.

"Yeah, I'm up. Come on in." I replied, smiling a little. Mira was someone I could trust, I could ask her what I was supposed to do about this whole predicament with Laxus. She was the only person who knew about my feelings for him.

The door slid open, and in came Mira. She was smiling warmly, with a crimson lump of fabric in her arms. "Hey. I fixed your coat." she told me, setting the lump down on the bed. "I figured you'd want it back before you start going out and about again. So while you were injured, I made it my personal mission to fix it up."

"Really?" my whole face lit up and I dropped the book I had been reading, scrambling to unfold the coat and see. It looked brand-new. All the burn marks and rips were gone. "Oh man!" I clapped my hands like an excited child and threw my arms around Mira, hugging her tightly. "Thank you so much, I was wondering what I was gonna do about this!"

"You're welcome, Freed." she laughed and patted my head a few times. "I'm more than happy to have helped in some way, you overwork yourself too often."

"I know, I know." I rolled my eyes as I pulled away. "You've told me. Several times."

"That's because it's true and you need to stop it." she chuckled as she sat down on the edge of the bed beside me.

"Oh hey, since you're here... Laxus knows." I gave her a deadpan look. I knew she'd figure out exactly what I was talking about, she was smart.

"I know that he knows. He was talking to me about it last night." she replied, evenly. "And don't worry so much about it, he doesn't have a problem with it. In fact, he was genuinely grateful and said he wanted to repay you somehow. You've been so good to him, and I'm proud of you."

I grimaced, beginning to fidget nervously. "You're kidding."

"I wouldn't lie to you. Especially not about something so important to you." Mira shook her head slightly as she went to put her hand over mine.

"U-Uhhh..." I quickly scooted back before she could touch my hand. "M-Mira... The hand... I-I don't..."

"Goodness!" she slapped her hand over her face as she realized her mistake. "Shit. I'm so sorry, Freed, I didn't mean to. I need to stop forgetting you don't want people touching your hands. As I was saying, I'm telling you the truth, honey. He isn't upset at all about this whole thing." she instead put her warm hand on my shoulder, which I was okay with.

"I-It's okay. I'm fine. Really." I gave her an unconvincing smile. "And... I know I n-need to... Say something to Laxus... B-But I don't know how."

"What exactly is it that you want to say to him?" Mira tilted her head at me, blue eyes sparkling with concern and sympathy.

"I just wanna tell him... How I feel... And ask if he's alright with it."

"Well... I'm not sure what to tell you. You can't go wrong if you just tell the truth, and I know you are exceptionally good at that."

"B-But what if I mess it up, or make it sound weird, or..."

"Freed. It's fine. Just tell him how you feel, it's that simple. If you want, you can write it out as runes just to ensure that it is the absolute truth, nothing less. That might help calm your nerves a bit."

"O-Okay. Maybe I will." I nodded, realizing how good of an idea that was.

"Good boy. Remember, it's gonna be fine, okay? I believe that." Mira slowly rose to her feet and kissed the top of my head. "Alright, I'm gonna go get back to work. Go get your coat on, Laxus should come by to get you in a few minutes." she said, as she walked out of the room.

I nodded my agreement. "Bye, sister. See you later." I slowly stood up, still a bit wobbly on my feet, and wandered into the washroom to get cleaned up.

After taking a long shower, getting dressed into my usual attire (I was so happy to have my coat back that I couldn't stop smiling), and brushing out my long hair, I came out to discover Laxus was sitting on the bed that I had made earlier, waiting for me.

"Hey." he greeted, smiling as he saw me. "You look good. Mira told me how excited you were when she showed you that she fixed your coat."

I blushed. _He thinks I look good. _"Th-Thanks... You l-look nice too." I was already messing up, I wanted to facepalm so bad.

"Heh. You ready to go?" he asked, tilting his head to one side, regarding me with absolutely lovely golden eyes.

"Yeah. Let's get out there before I can change my mind." I nodded and started for the door, trying my hardest to get my blushing under control. _I don't wanna make a fool of myself on my first day being a part of Fairy Tail again._

Laxus chuckled and got up, diving in front of me so he could take the lead, walking us out of the infirmary to the open cafe. I smiled as I glanced around the busy tables. Everyone was talking and laughing and just being themselves. Cana was perched in the corner, chugging down an entire barrel of some kind of foul liquor. Mirajane was at her counter, serving out any kind of food or drink anyone wanted. Natsu and Gray were having a heated argument by the wall across from me, glaring daggers at each other. Erza was on her way over to the two boys to break up the fight, face set in a dark scowl. All the familiar faces made me smile even more.

I found my way over to the Thunder Legion's usual table, by the entrance to the guild and the cafe. Evergreen and Bickslow were seated on the same side, laughing hysterically over some sort of joke Bix had just made.

"Hey, guys." I greeted, tapping Ever on the shoulder as I passed, intending to sit down across from them like I always did.

Her eyes got absolutely huge. _"Freeeeeeeeed!"_ she shrieked, as she and Bix sprang to their feet and dragged me into a huge group hug, Laxus laughing loudly as he joined in.

I was immediately crushed, and couldn't help but giggle as I squirmed around. "Hey! I'm glad to see you guys too, but I can't breathe, you idiots!" I said, scoldingly. "Next thing you know, I'll be back in the infirmary for a serious case of collapsed lungs and crushed ribcage!"

"Shut up, drama queen. We fucking missed your mean ass." Bickslow whacked me over the head with one beefy arm.

"He's right, you know. I felt super bad for making you guys come on patrol with me." Evergreen agreed, wiping tears of happiness and regret from her lime-colored eyes.

I pushed them all off me, taking a deep breath, a huge grin spreading across my face. "I was only gone one day and you have the audacity to call _me_ a drama queen? I don't think I'm the one deserving of that title, guys..." I paused for a moment, and then glared at Bix. "And _you_ need to watch your language."

"Hah!" Laxus barked a laugh and chased Bix and Ever back to their seats. "Alright, stop harassing each other. Let's enjoy the rest of today. Ever, can you go get us some drinks from Mira?"

"No. Make Bix do it." the brunette crossed her arms defiantly and turned up her chin like a child refusing to eat her vegetables.

"Alright. Bix, you've been voluntold to get us some drinks. Hop to it." Laxus turned his attention to the tall boy sitting beside her.

"Aw, damn! You'll pay for this, Evergreen!" Bickslow growled, as he rose to his full height- a terrifying six foot eleven inches. "What do you guys want?"

"Just tea. Mira knows how I like it." I replied, sitting down across from Evergreen.

"White wine for me." she piped up.

"And I'll take a cherry coke." Laxus added.

Bickslow nodded, quickly memorizing our orders as he turned and went off to the counter, yelling something at Mirajane. I sighed and settled into my seat. All the warm familiarity was so nice. I had been with Fairy Tail ever since I was only six years old. I was twenty now, but everyone thought I was younger because of my height and build. I had known Laxus for just as long, fourteen years. He was always my closest friend from the very start, eventually introducing me to Ever and Bix when I was fifteen. Five years later, we were best friends.

Ever suddenly got up and ran off to talk to Cana, whom was all the way across the room. Bix was still at the counter, practically harassing Mira, so Laxus and I were alone at the table. He immediately turned to face me, and I swallowed hard. It seemed he wanted to discuss things too.

"Freed? About last night... I just wanted to say I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything. I really hope I didn't." he said, giving me a concerned look. His tone was so sincere that it made my heart melt.

"N-No, you didn't." I suddenly found myself unable to speak without stammering and quickly looked away, my cheeks reddening. "I-I just needed s-some space b-because... W-Well... I-It kinda scared me to r-realize that you know I... I-I... L-Love..." I couldn't get the words out now, I was too nervous and vaguely aware of the fact I was trembling violently.

"Hey." Laxus slipped his warm arm around my shoulders and leaned closer. "It's okay. I understand."

But now I just had to say it, because him understanding something unspoken wasn't good enough. I took a deep breath, mustered up every ounce of courage I possessed in my tiny little body, looked him square in the eye, opened my mouth and said, "I love you, Laxus."

Now that it was out in the open, all my courage died abruptly and all my typical shy, introvertedness returned full force. The blood rushed to my face and I quickly hid my face behind both hands, looking away and groaning loudly as I realized what had just happened.

Laxus was speechless for a total of two minutes and thirteen seconds, I counted. I peeked at him from between my fingers. He didn't look angry or uncomfortable or upset or anything negative. He just looked... shocked.

_I messed this whole thing up for myself, didn't I?_

"Freed?" He called out, his voice soft and uncertain. I didn't react, trying to hide as long as possible. "Freed. Look at me." He repeated, with a lot more confidence. He slid his hand under my chin and gently pushed upward so I was looking at him. I was probably a blushing, trembling mess. It was embarrassing. "I love you too." He told me, with the most sincerity I've ever seen from a human being in my entire life.

"I-I..." I started to say, voice shaking harder than I was, but he put a finger to my lips, stopping me.

"Wait, I wasn't finished." he tucked a long strand of hair behind my ear, the touch soft and sweet. "You mean a lot to me, okay? More than you could ever imagine. I'm beyond grateful for all the things you've done for me, and I'm so fucking sorry for using you, taking advantage of you, and getting myself expelled from Fairy Tail last year. It was so selfish and stupid of me to turn your own loyalty and devotion against you and make you use your own magic against other people, simply because I told you to. You're such an amazing person. I'd be so lost without you."

I couldn't believe my ears. How was this happening? No, it couldn't be. I was dreaming. I had to be.

I quickly turned away from him and pinched my arm as hard as I could, wincing at the sharp pain.

"What're you doing?" Laxus gave me a confounded look.

"Trying to wake up." I told him, blatantly.

He laughed softly and grabbed my wrist. "Stop that. Don't hurt yourself. This isn't a dream."

I realized how perilously close his fingers were to my hand and shyly pulled away, mumbling, "My hand..."

"Shit, sorry." he quickly released my wrist and shifted his grip over to my forearm instead, which was much more comfortable and grounding. "I hope you know I never do that on purpose, it's just natural human instinct to go for the hands when it comes to affection."

"I-I know and it's o-okay." I reassured, patting his shoulder comfortingly. He stared at my hand like he wanted to touch it, and I nearly recoiled simply from fear that he would. "I'm k-kinda a special-case scenario when it c-comes to the hands, so I understand w-why you guys do it so often."

"Yeah. Thanks for being so understanding, Freed. That's another thing I love about you. You're so... Easy to talk to and get along with because you listen, and you understand because you're always thinking and you're so damn intelligent it's not fair." he chuckled as he spoke, sliding his hand up from my forearm to my shoulder, brushing my hair out of the way.

"It is too!" I immediately retorted. "If you read more books you'd be the same way."

"Oh come on, you know I've never been much of a reader." he protested, pretending to whine.

We both laughed after that. It was normal for us to have little fake quarrels like that, simply because it was so funny to make fun of each other without actually meaning what we were saying.

"Ah, well, point still stands. You're amazing. Absolutely awe-inspiring." he said, once we had calmed down enough to speak legibly.

"Heh..." I looked away again, trying to hide my blush, which seemed to get more and more prominent the more he spoke. "I-I'm sorry, words are failing me right now, s-so is it okay if I..?" I trailed off as I pulled a pen from my coat pocket.

"Oh, of course, Freed. You're an excellent writer too, did I mention that?" Laxus smiled warmly.

"Stop flattering me." I scolded, as I took his arm, rolled up his sleeve, and carefully wrote something in elegant runes on the underside of his wrist, turning his hand palm up to do so.

Once I finished, only a moment later, he examined his wrist, admiring the perfectly done glyphs I had written there. "It looks really nice, but I'm afraid I can't understand it."

"Gimme." I grabbed his arm again and went back to work on his wrist.

Under each rune, I wrote the meaning.

_Beautiful. Perfect. Trustworthy. Strong. Unbreakable. Persistent. Intelligent. Wonderful. _

"Look at it now." I told him, releasing his arm.

He grinned as he once again stared at his own skin, squinting at the perfectly legible translations I had put there. His smile faded into a look of shock and fascination as he realized what all those words meant. They were what I thought of him, my poured-out feelings for him. And he understood.

"A-And you know it's legit b-because runes are incapable of l-lying..." I mumbled, fidgeting anxiously.

"Freed..." he shook his head in disbelief and raised his gaze to meet mine.

He reached out and cupped my face between his hands, tilting my chin down, leaning forward to press a long, tender kiss on my forehead. I couldn't help the startled and delighted gasp that escaped my lips as my skin began to glow where his lips were touching. A moment later, too soon, he pulled back and stared at me for a long moment. His eyes darted to my lips for the briefest moment, and I understood what he wanted. Neither of us said anything, we both started leaning toward each other at the same time for an actual kiss. My first kiss, and it was with Laxus! I felt my insides were going to explode from excitement.

We were so close to touching, his lips perilously close to mine, when suddenly...

_"What's up, fuckers, I'm back!"_ Bickslow returned at top speed, shouting at the top of his lungs so the entire guild had his presence announced to them.

Laxus quickly released me and we both scrambled away from each other before our friend could notice what we were up to. I felt slightly disappointed. I had never been so sure of anything in my life, I really wanted that kiss. But Bickslow had to come back and ruin it.

My forehead still glowed with a pleasant warmth where Laxus had kissed me. It was almost painful to think that if Mira had taken just a few seconds longer to make our drinks, my lips would be feeling the same way right now.

Laxus gave me a sidelong look as Bix distributed our drinks. I glanced back at the thunder dragon slayer, and he touched a finger to his lips for a split second before returning his hand to his lap. I understood the message. _Don't tell them about this. About us. Please. _

I nodded slightly so he knew I got it before accepting the hot cup of peppermint tea from Bix and taking a sip. Evergreen realized our drinks were at the table and hurried over to come get hers. Now everyone was seated at the table once again. We all talked and made light conversation, laughed at each other's terrible jokes because we all had terrible senses of humor, and told stories of our lives that we had all heard a thousand times like we always did. And although I enjoyed every second of it, I was so distracted by one thing.

Laxus.

He loved me. He said he did, and I believed him.

He wouldn't have given me a kiss if he didn't truly love me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. He hadn't rolled down his sleeve to conceal the runes on his wrist, but he kept that hand hidden under the table. I still caught him occasionally glancing down at the runes I had written there and smiling. I was so happy I had made him happy like that. I knew it really meant something to him, those simple words I had written on his skin.

_I helped him. That's what I'm here for. Doing everything in my power to serve him in any way possible, to make his day better. _

The lack of sleep was really catching up to me once I finished my tea about an hour later. We were all still hanging out together in the cafe, it was normal for us to spend the entire day there, especially after jobs. We weren't lazy when it came to quests, but we weren't super active like Team Natsu either. We participated enough to be on Makarov's good side, but we weren't super crazy about working. I liked it that way. I never felt overwhelmed by work, but I also never felt like I wasn't contributing enough effort to the guild.

Now, I was just bone-tired.

I chastised myself for not getting any sleep last night, because I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Freed? You okay?" Evergreen suddenly asked, jolting me out of my drowsy, fuzzy-minded state.

I blinked a few times, startled, before yawning and saying, "I'm really tired."

"Yeah, we can tell." Bix nodded his large head a few times, regarding me with overly critical eyes behind his helmet.

"Aww, he's even cuter when he's all sleepy!" Evergreen cooed, talking to Laxus as if I weren't there. That's what annoyed me about her. Sometimes she openly talked about me like I was a little kid... Right in front of me.

"Yeah." Laxus agreed, glancing at me so I knew he actually meant it. "You should call it a day and go to bed, Freed." he told me.

I shook my head defiantly. "No. I don't want to."

"Okay, then." Laxus chuckled, turning back to his ongoing conversation with Bickslow. "As I was saying, you really should try to watch your language a bit more, you know how much it bothers Mira and Freed..."

I didn't hear the rest of his sentence, I'm pretty sure I fell asleep right then and there.

When I woke up, I was still at the table, but Laxus had moved me so I was slumped over in his lap, my head resting on his strong chest, his arms wrapped around me to keep me from falling over. It felt so warm and safe that I refused to open my eyes. I didn't want him to know I was awake, because if he did, this beautiful moment would end.

"He really is adorable when he sleeps." I heard Evergreen remark.

"It's not often that he's completely relaxed like this." Laxus agreed. "It's good for him, I feel like he works too hard sometimes."

"Oh well, it's his own damn choice to act like your slave." Bickslow said, and I could sense his eyes rolling. He had such an attitude, perhaps one even bigger than he was.

"Don't talk about him like that. He's not my slave. He's just being himself and you know it." Laxus scolded. "And he's perfect just the way he is. If you have a problem with Freed, you've got a problem with me too so you can leave."

My heart skipped a beat like it always did when Laxus openly protected me from things like this.

"Yikes. The poor thing was so tired he almost fell out of his chair earlier. He would've smacked his head on the table if it weren't for you. Nice catch, Laxus." Ever praised, changing the subject, before Laxus and Bix could start fighting.

"Heh, yeah. He just got out of the infirmary and I'm pretty sure Wendy would sock me in the face if he ended up back in there so soon." Laxus chuckled softly as he spoke of the precious little wind dragon slayer who used her gentle air magic to heal the sick and injured. She had taken good care of me, with the help of other healers, and was by far my favorite out of all of them. "So I think I'm gonna hold onto him until he wakes up, just so he doesn't fall again."

"A wise decision." Bix huffed. "We don't want him to lose his intelligence because he hit his head too hard. I can't believe I'm saying this, but that little pipsqueak is _useful_ because his magic runes are powerful enough to turn this entire guild against each other, and his intelligence exceeds all of ours by a thousand miles."

"That's because he's a nerd." Laxus said, with an affectionate undertone that told me he meant no ill will towards me by saying it. He always called me a nerd anyway, it was like a pet name.

Ironically, Bickslow's next obnoxious question was, "What is he? Your pet or your personal servant?"

"Neither." Laxus replied, with a neutral tone implying he didn't want to fight. "He's my best friend, and the most helpful person I have ever met. I don't ask him to do what he does, although I really appreciate it. He makes my life so much easier."

"So where exactly did Freed come from? I need to get me one of those..." I could hear the soft sound of Bickslow rubbing his massive hands together greedily. I almost scoffed.

"There's only one Freed in the entire universe," Laxus explained. _And that one Freed belongs to Laxus,_ I thought. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's alright. I was joking." Bix shrugged.

I decided now was a good time to "wake up". I inhaled sharply and stirred, like a person suddenly disturbed from sleeping would. My eyes opened, and I glanced down at where I was sitting, pretending to be surprised and confused.

"O-Oh? How did I get here?" I wondered out loud.

"Heh. You abruptly passed out, you were so tired. You almost hit your head, so I figured it was best I keep you safe." Laxus explained, his voice gentle and loving. "Silly Freed, you should know by now that falling asleep in this particular guild is hazardous to your health!" he pretended to scold me, much to my amusement.

"Hey!" I squeaked out, pretending to get all indignant. "It's not really my fault, I got absolutely no sleep last night!"

He laughed and let me go. I got up, trying to look as indignant as possible, and returned to my seat beside him. I tried to pretend to be upset, but with him, it was impossible so I just kept a quiet smile on my face as I picked up a book I had brought with me (and kept concealed in my coat so Bix didn't steal it from me like he loved to do) and started to read, after finding where I had left off, of course...

"Reading again?" Evergreen asked, peering at me from behind the book.

I didn't even look up. "Yes."

"You were right, Laxus, he is a nerd." Bix snorted. "Even more so than Gray."

"You're just jealous that I can actually read, unlike you." I shot back, still not looking up. Reading and fending off haters at the same time was a form of multi-tasking I specialized in.

"Fuck you, man." the beefy boy turned away, making a huge show of not looking at me.

"Language." I calmly replied.

"Damn, Freed, I'm proud of you." Ever clapped her hands loudly. "It's not every day that you put ol' Bickslow in his place."

"Shut up, pixie fairy." Bix grumbled.

"I'm just glad to see you guys again." I smiled warmly at her, peeking up over the edge of my book to do so. "One day is far too long. The three of you are the best."

"That's really sweet, Freed." Ever grinned.

"He means it too, rune-writers don't lie." Laxus remarked, shooting me a sideways glance.

I really was glad to be back, even though my friends had crushed me in a prolonged group hug, ruined what was almost my first kiss, and openly insulted me a few times. It just felt like home, mostly because I knew better than to let all the stupid little things get the better of me and damage my pride or make me angry. They were all just being themselves, much like I was.

_But I do hope I get that kiss I missed... Maybe some day..._ I glanced at Laxus with longing. _My first kiss I've always been saving for him, anyway..._

_To be continued..._

**A/N: that went well. I love how things keep progressing and then abruptly stopping XD. Makes the fic so much more exciting. You guys are gonna love the next chapter, it gets sooooo fluffy... Anyway I love y'all, see you next chapter!**

**_-UltimatexAdmin_**


	5. I hate to see you cry

**Random creep on discord: every story needs a good sex scene.**

**Me: ...**

**Me: ...well, shit.**

**-**

_"...I hate to see you cry, your smile is a beautiful lie...I hate to see you cry, my love is dying inside..." _

-Edward Maya, "Stereo Love"

**-**

_Laxus POV_

After Bickslow rudely interrupted Freed and I, I was both disappointed, shocked and dismayed. Disappointed because we were so close to kissing and it had been completely ruined by Bickslow's sudden presence. Shocked because everything had gone by so fast and I simply could not bring myself to believe that Freed really and truly thought the world of me, it was such a vast concept. And I was dismayed because he and I both knew we couldn't tell anyone about this.

_Hell, we probably can't even be official, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean..._ I thought to myself as I walked into the open cafe. _And I really did want that kiss. Seems I'll have to get it from him another time. Maybe today, if I can get him alone..._

I realized how creepy that sounded and shook those thoughts out of my head. For now, it was time to join our usual table and be friends. Just friends.

I was running a bit late, so Ever, Bix and Freed were all at our usual table when I made it there. Even from where I was standing, approaching from a distance, I could immediately tell that they were a strange bunch. Bix was playing with one of his possessed dolls, using his magic to make it fly in tight, elegant patterns over his head, watching with an amused smile as it did. Evergreen was sitting beside him, as always, doodling in a sketch book with one hand and messing with her hair with the other. Lastly, Freed was sitting with his legs criss-crossed on top of the table, munching on a carrot as he read one of his precious books.

As I walked up to the table and said, "Hey, guys." Bickslow's doll swooped over my head.

"Hullo." Freed replied, glancing up at me and smiling before returning to his book, thoroughly engrossed in the text.

"Hey, Laxus." Evergreen waved her hand in greeting.

Bickslow didn't respond, he was concentrating. I watched, amused, as his doll floated around in a neat circle, hesitated, and then darted out to attack Freed (Bix liked to use his dolls to steal Freed's books from him). The doll nearly made it, but suddenly crashed into an invisible wall.

"What the hell!" Bix exclaimed, bewildered.

A wall of runes flickered into existence around Freed, glowing purple symbols extending up from the table and going on forever. He smirked playfully and gestured to the wavering, shimmering runes. "Seems I've gotten smart enough to know how to evade your 'babies', Bickslow." he remarked, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. "It's an enchantment I put around myself, and you're not allowed in it. Those are the rules."

The way enchantments worked was the rune-writer had to write a set of rules, such as "none may leave this area until one has risen victorious" (an example gleaned from the enchantments I made Freed use against all of Fairy Tail when I was drunk on power). Enchantment rules were absolute, and the enchantment could not be lifted unless the spellcaster changed his mind, or the rules were completed. As such, Freed was always so well-mannered and self-disciplined simply because he behaved like his magic. He always followed the rules.

"Huh. Smart." I said, as the wall of runes flickered once and disappeared. Enchantments were invisible until something ran into them and revealed their existence.

Bickslow howled with dismay and scooped up the little wooden doll that had crashed into the enchantment, cradling it protectively whilst glaring at Freed. "You hurt my baby!"

"I'm sure your baby will get over it. I didn't want my book to be stolen, I'm trying to finish it." Freed didn't even look up from his book.

"That's... Kinda cold of you, Freed." Ever said, with a hint of admiration in her voice. We all knew that if Freed wanted to, he could pin us all against each other and take over. He was terrifyingly powerful. Yet he was so small and harmless-looking.

It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that tiny, shy, sweet, _adorable_ Freed was capable of extremely dangerous things that the rest of us could only ever hope to do.

"I think it's neat." I told her, waving my hand through the runes. They flickered into existence, but didn't stop me. I managed to pass through the wall as if it weren't even there, which surprised me. "Nani? Hey, I made it through!"

"It would seem so." Freed turned a page in his book.

"Huh???" Bickslow ran over to my side and tried to get his hand through, but his palm slapped into the invisible barrier and the rune wall appeared again, glowing brightly and flashing at him, as if annoyed by his attempts. "What the fuck! How come Laxus got through it??"

"Language. And it's simple. You just have to know the rules." Freed finally looked up at him as he tried to break down the enchantment with brute force, which was impossible because rune walls were unbreakable. "The runes state that you or anything possessed by you is not allowed to pass within this area, small though it may be. Laxus is not you, nor is he possessed by you in any way, shape or form, so he can get in just fine. In other words, the rules don't apply to him."

"How fitting." Evergreen mumbled, I threw her an amused look.

"That is so cool." I praised. "Is this why you're sitting _on_ the table, not _at_ the table?"

"Yes. It's easier to set enchantments within a very small area when there are no objects in the way." Freed nodded, beaming with pride that he had found a way to successfully evade Bickslow's habit of stealing from him and messing with him. "It's rather efficient. Additionally, I can leave it here as long as I wish, since it's not getting in anyone's way. Bickslow just can't touch the middle of the table, and that's not the worst thing that could ever happen to him."

"What if it is? I like that part of the table." Bix growled, giving the little rune mage a death look. "And as soon as you leave that enchantment of yours, I'm gonna throttle you!"

"All the more reason for me to stay within the enchantment and finish my book." Freed grinned and returned to his book.

"Clever. Very clever." Evergreen nodded her approval.

"Oh shit, I forgot to grab my jacket out of my room." I turned around, then abruptly realized I had said a swear word. "Sorry, Freed." I quickly added and he waved me off.

"Did you? Which jacket?" The jade-haired rune mage asked, giving me an odd look over the edge of his book.

"The big heavy one, with the fur trim." I replied, absentmindedly.

I started walking away, but suddenly Freed sprang to his feet with inhuman speed and darted past me, saying, "Don't worry about it, Laxus, I'll get it for you!"

"You really don't have to." I told him, but he was already halfway across the room. I sighed and returned to my seat, smiling a little.

"His devotion to you is adorable." Evergreen remarked. "I'm pretty sure if you ever turned down his help, he'd be absolutely heartbroken. Asking him to not do things for you is like asking him to stop breathing."

"And that's why I've never turned down his help before." I agreed, a proud smile crossing my face. "It really is nice having his help with certain things, but even now I feel like he shouldn't have to make a whole bunch of extra work for himself because he wants me to be happy, or have an easier life, or whatever goal he hopes to accomplish with this."

"Just tell the damn pipsqueak to stop helping you. Boom, problem solved." Bickslow grumbled, poking at the wall of runes that was still planted in the middle of the table.

I threw the beefy marionette mage a glare that clearly communicated the message: _don't talk about my Freed like that _but let it go.

Freed returned with my coat only a moment later. It was large and heavy, nearly as big as he was, so he had it all bunched up in his arms. Even though he looked absolutely overwhelmed by the huge mound of fabric he was carrying, he was still grinning from ear to ear, which reminded me just how happy it made him to do things for me.

"I got it!" he announced, cheerfully.

Bickslow kicked Freed's legs out from under him all of a sudden, right as the smaller boy was passing by. With a little yelp of alarm, Freed tripped and fell on his face, hard. Fortunately, my coat was there to cushion his rough landing, but I still jumped to my feet to make sure he was okay.

"Bickslow!" I exclaimed, scoldingly, as I crouched down and helped Freed get up.

The little rune mage dusted off his red coat before drawing himself up to his full height, which wasn't very intimidating, bristling with fury, hazel eyes flashing with a dangerous, angry light.

"Oh, so you think it makes you all big and strong just because you can push around someone who's less than half your size and utterly useless?" Freed snapped, with more spite in his voice than I had ever heard. The black ribbon at the end of his long hair had come loose when he fell, so now his jade hair was strewn across his face, an absolute mess. "Well, I'll show you useless! I'll show you weak! How about I put an enchantment around you that won't let you out until you rip your own arm off? Let see how tough you think you are then!"

"Freed," I said, not unkindly. I put my hand on his shoulder. He was trembling all over. "I know you're upset and he was wrong for tripping you up, but that's going a bit too far."

Freed didn't respond, he was too upset. He huffed and pivoted sharply, turning and storming off in the general direction of the dorms.

Ever, Bix and I were speechless. None of us had ever seen him get so angry before. Usually Freed was so calm and quiet and peaceful, very slow to anger. What had made him get so upset? Was he okay?

"Whoa. I didn't know he had it in him. Eh, it's a good thing he's all bark and no bite." Bickslow shrugged uncaringly.

And then it hit me. _Bickslow's always being so mean to him, taking his books, pushing him around, calling him names and just generally being a bit of a bully. Freed must be so tired of it. _

"Well, this wouldn't have happened if you treated him better. Now he's all upset." I glared at Bix.

"Hey, why are you so mad at me? I didn't even _do_ anything!" he got all defensive and folded his massive arms, glaring right back.

"Oh, it's not like you're always belittling him, calling him names, stealing his things and tripping him up. Hell, you make his life miserable and you don't seem to care." I rolled my eyes, absolutely exasperated. "He's so sweet and helpful, and you have to go and make everything ten times harder for him."

"Maybe I wouldn't have to if he weren't always following you around like a clingy puppy." Bix shot back, and refused to say anything more afterward.

I decided to give up the fight and go check up on Freed, who probably wasn't doing so great right now. I hurried down the hall to the dorms, ignoring the curious stares of guild members as I went. Freed's room was at the end of the hall, on the left. I paused at the closed door, and waited for a minute, allowing my enhanced hearing senses to kick in. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going in at a bad time.

I quickly picked up an unfamiliar sound. A soft sob. Freed was... Crying? I'd never seen him cry before. Based off how quiet and muffled it was, he must've had his face buried in a pillow. The poor thing couldn't even stand to let himself cry. I knew I had to go in and check on him. It broke my heart, knowing this whole thing with Bix had always bothered him so much, but other than defending him when things went too far, I had done absolutely nothing to protect him.

I hesitated before raising a hand and knocking on the door. "Freed?"

"G-Go away." his soft voice replied, slightly choked.

"It's me. I'm coming in whether you like it or not." I decided, pushing the door open. It wasn't locked.

Freed was curled up in a little ball on his bed, hugging a pillow to his chest, hiding his face as I expected. "L-Leave me alone..." he mumbled, obviously trying to hide the fact he'd been crying.

"No, you're really upset right now and it's my job to be there for you when you need me." I closed the door behind me and sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out and putting my hand on Freed's shoulder. He was still shaking like a leaf. "C'mere, nerd." I slid my arms under him so I could gently raise him to a sitting position, scooping him up into my arms. "There. Much better."

"Laxus, I..." Freed stammered out, trying to wriggle away from me. "I-I don't think..."

"Shhh. Please don't push me away. You need this." I gently nudged the pillow out of his grasp, revealing his tear-streaked face. Seeing his wide, glassy eyes that seemed so innocent and heartbroken made me want to cry too, I had never seen him so upset before. I slowly ran my fingers through his soft green hair, keeping my other arm around him. "What's wrong, Freed?"

"I-I just... S-Sometimes, I... Get tired of..." the more he spoke, the closer he got to bursting into tears again, and I could tell he was really trying not to do that.

"It's okay, you can tell me how you feel. I'm here." I said, trying to help him. I pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head as I began stroking his hair.

The touch caused him to come completely undone. It startled me when a soft sob broke out of his chest, followed immediately by another. I could tell how hard he was trying to hold it back, but the flood of emotion was too strong for him to stop. He buried his face in my chest as a fresh river of tears began making their way down his face.

"I-I'm sorry..." he whispered, muffled by my shirt.

"No, no, don't apologize. It's alright. You're allowed to be human." I told him, fingers dancing across his scalp, sliding through his silky hair that was so long it was like a rippling emerald and jade river. "What's bothering you? Can you tell me?"

Freed hesitated before reaching down and tugging on my arm, pulling it tighter around him. "B-Bix... He really gets to m-me... Sometimes..." he said, slowly, as he wiped his eyes and tried to stop crying. Even when he was sobbing out loud, it was so quiet and soft, which amazed me. "I-I can't stand it when he treats me like that because it... Reminds me of..." he could get no further and broke down again. I could feel his tears seeping through my shirt, which he was clutching tightly with one hand, like it was the only thing keeping me there. His shoulders were heaving and his chest was shaking. He seemed so fragile in that moment I felt as though I could break him in half on accident.

I held him even tighter, murmuring soft reassurances into his hair, making sure he knew that I was there and he was safe. "Shhh. It's alright. I've got you." I really wanted to ask what it reminded him of, I was sensing some backstory to this, but I didn't want to rush him. I was sure he'd tell me as soon as he was ready. "Freed... I hope you know you can tell me anything. I'm here for you. You can talk to me."

There was another choked sob. "I-I know... B-But... It... It has something to do with... W-Why I don't like people touching m-my... My hands..."

My eyes widened slightly. There really was a backstory here, and it must've been brutal. I had always known something terrible must have happened to him to cause him to not want his hands touched, even by people he trusted, people he loved.

"That's alright, you really don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I reassured, running my fingers through his delightfully soft hair again. "You're important to me. I want to help you. And if that means just holding you, being here for you right now, then that's what I'll do."

There was silence for several minutes. I kept stroking and playing with his hair as I held him close, letting him cry into my shirt, drawing out more tears which each gentle pass of my hand. The poor thing was falling apart. I hated seeing him like this, he was always so strong and determined. Now, I was the only thing keeping him from crumbling into pieces. I began to think he wasn't going to say anything else once enough time had passed, and I was okay with that. I wasn't going to let pry for answers. He was hurting.

Finally, he drew in a shaky breath and said, "I-I wasn't always like this..."

"Oh, Freed, you're perfect just the way you are." I started to say, but he waved me off.

"No, no, l-let me explain." he replied, quickly. "I-I was... A happy little kid. Never thought anything was w-wrong with the world." he continued, and I realized he was about to open up a little and explain some things.

_Yes._ I inwardly celebrated this victory. He was about to tell me things he had never told anyone else. That, to me, was a sign of true love.

"My parents were very religious," he continued. "But I was far too young to fall under their strict rules, so it didn't bother me at all. I didn't care much for it, instead being more concerned with petty toddler things, like which building blocks I wanted to play with and which I didn't. When I was four, I was already able to read simple sentences fairly efficiently, and my parents praised my ability. They agreed that I was academically gifted and they were lucky to have a son like me."

I whistled in admiration. "You've been reading since you were four? That's damn impressive right there."

"Hehe..." Freed chuckled halfheartedly. "I guess I'm just good at it. Anyway, my parents come from a branch of Catholicism that considers ancient runes and any other dead language with magical significance evil, demonic, black magic, satanic... You get the idea. So they tried to raise me to be the same way. When I was five, everything changed, though."

I inhaled sharply. Five. Just a year before he showed up at Fairy Tail. I could already sense where this was going.

"My mom and I... We were in a bookstore, I can't remember what exactly we were looking for. But she let go of my hand to look at something, and I wandered over to a book that was written in runes." Freed began trembling, and I could tell he was trying not to cry. This was where the story went bad. "I could read the title perfectly, and it interested me. I asked my mother about it, asked her why I could read the strange symbols, and she was horrified when she realized they were runes. Absolutely horrified. She dragged me out of there as fast as she could, and I wondered why she wouldn't stop crying and praying out loud. Something was wrong and it bothered me."

I could practically smell the way this was going to go. But I stayed silent, letting him finish.

"On the walk home, I asked her what she was praying about. She blatantly told me that I must be been possessed by an evil spirit to be able to read such a demonic language. She called me evil to my face. I just didn't understand why." Freed sniffled pitifully and wiped his eyes, trying his hardest to keep his voice from wavering. "When we got home, she told my father right away what had happened. He was so furious and terrified that he stormed out for an hour and... He came back... So drunk he could barely walk... My mother, she was horrified because drinking went against our religion too... But he simply said he wouldn't be able to do what he was about to without liquor clouding his thinking... And he... He said that... Maybe if I couldn't use my hands, I'd never... Never learn to use the dark magic that is runes and enchantments..." his voice began trembling, once again I felt tears sleeping through my shirt.

"It's okay, Freed." I whispered, pulling him closer and allowing him to tuck his head under my chin.

He nodded, grateful for the reassurance. "I-I remember I was scared because... My father... C-Came to my room with a knife... H-He grabbed me and... Threw me on the ground, s-stepped on both of my wrists s-so the bones snapped... I-I remember screaming, m-my mother was sobbing, I was so scared... He used the knife and... C-Cut all my fingers open... Both hands... It hurt so badly, there was blood everywhere, and he... He kept telling me that he was saving me... That I wouldn't be evil if I couldn't use my hands..." Freed broke off with a horrible sob of anguish, curling into a ball and whimpering like a frightened child.

"Shhh. It's okay. You're okay. It's all over now, they can't hurt you anymore." I murmured, sliding my hand into his green hair once again, trying to comfort him. The heartbreaking wails of a tortured mind broke my heart. I couldn't believe Freed had gone through something so terrible at such a young age. It was horrible.

He finally found his voice again and said, "B-But that wasn't the end of it... By some luck, I-I could still use my hands once they healed. M-My parents didn't take kindly to this a-at all, they both started d-drinking just to cover up their pain, their fear... They were scared of me, a five-year-old boy who managed to read a s-stupid book title." he shook his head as if in denial that it had happened. "W-While intoxicated, they often... S-Screamed at me, c-called me a d-demon, t-told me I was damned to hell b-because I could read runes... I w-was always so afraid... And then... T-They'd hurt me... A-And it was always my hands..." another sob ended his explanation, but that was all I needed to hear.

"Freed. You don't have to say anything else." I told him, and he continued to sob into my chest, like the little lost, broken boy he had been. "I'm guessing you ran away after awhile and Makarov took you in once he saw what your stupid parents were doing to your poor hands."

Freed nodded, sobbing too hard to say anything else. He clutched my shirt so tightly his knuckles were white. His entire body was heaving from the heartbreaking sobs wracking his chest, shoulders shuddering violently. I held him close, cradling his trembling body, my thumb rubbing slow circles on his shoulder, my other hand massaging his scalp. I knew he was so far gone in his memories that my touch was the only thing keeping him grounded in the present. So I held him even tighter, just wanting him to be okay.

Finally, after several moments, he was beginning to calm down. I lifted his chin so he was looking at me and began kissing away his tears, lips brushing across his soft skin. He blushed and mumbled something incoherent, trying to pull away.

"Please. This is killing you." I squeezed his arm. "Don't keep trying to run away. I won't let you."

I was suddenly overcome by the desire to show him that I was different, that I would never _ever_ hurt his precious hands. I untangled my free hand from his hair and quickly found his wrist, grasping it firmly and gently tugging it away from my chest, where it had been clutching my shirt so tightly it left a shit ton of dark wrinkles behind. Slowly, so I didn't frighten him, I reached out with my other hand and brushed my fingertips across the back of his hand, so lightly he could barely feel it.

Freed stiffened and let out a strangled cry of protest. "L-Laxus! D-Don't t-touch my hands!"

I ignored him, saying, "I'm not like your goddamned parents, I would never hurt you. I would never lay a hand on you. You're mine. I love you."

I grasped his hand firmly and raised it to my lips, planting a gentle kiss on the top, lips grazing his pale knuckles. He blanched and struggled, trying to pull away, eyes wide with horror. "P-Please..!"

"No. I don't want you to be afraid of me. It's okay. See, gentle touches." I smoothed my thumb across the back of his hand, he was still absolutely frantic with terror as he tried to yank his wrist out of my grasp. I held him tight and planted a series of soft kisses across the back of his hand, from his fingers to his wrist.

"N-No... I-I... Please..." his protesting had died down at this point, and his frenzied struggling was calming, as he began to realize that I was touching his hand and I wasn't hurting him.

Staying silent, I turned his hand palm-up and trailed my lips across it, starting at his fingertips, watching his pale face for any sort of reaction. A slight blush had crept into his cheeks, he was trembling violently. But he had stopped fighting, stopped protesting. _It's working. He's letting me touch his hand._ I smoothed my thumb across his palm, admiring how soft and delicate his skin was. I smiled a little as I caressed his perfect hand, gazing into his beautiful hazel eyes that I loved so much.

"I'm so sorry for scaring you. I just really needed to show you that I'd never hurt you, and that you can trust me with your hands. And this was the only way." I apologized, leaning forward and kissing his nose.

He was speechless for a moment, staring back at me, trying to detect any sort of lie in my eyes. Satisfied that he had found none, he stammered out, "I-I... don't... u-understand..."

"Look." I turned his hand over again and kissed the back of it, bang splat in the middle. He flinched and gasped at the touch, tensing up. "I'm not gonna hurt you, you're so precious to me." I reassured, kissing him again before tracing the outline of his thin, tiny hand with my fingers.

"I-I like that." Freed said, shyly. "N-Nobody's ever touched m-my hand for so long... I-I forgot what it feels like..."

I smiled and took his other hand into my grasp, cupping both of his between mine. His hands were so warm and soft and delicate that I wondered how I had gone by for so long never knowing what his hands felt like. Perhaps I was too afraid to step up and show him he could trust me like this.

"You have perfect hands, Freed. Will you let me touch them from here on out?" I knew I was asking a lot of him. In fact, I was asking him to trust me with something that he'd never trusted anyone else with before.

Freed glanced down at the ground, trembling ever so slightly. Finally, I felt him intertwine our fingers and squeeze my hands. He looked me in the eye and nodded, saying, "I trust you, Laxus."

Unable to stop myself, I threw my arms around him, releasing his hands and pulling him up to my chest, one arm around his waist, the other's hand tangling in his hair at the back of his head. He gripped at my shirt, snuggling up against me and closing his eyes, seeming absolutely peaceful for the first time since I had found him. I buried my face in his unbelievably soft hair, breathing in his subtle lavender scent. Everything was perfect.

But I knew how to make it just a little more perfect.

I slid my hand under Freed's chin, gently pushing upward, making him look at me. "Freed... You still owe me that kiss we missed the other day..." I whispered, almost afraid to disturb the peaceful silence that had fallen over us.

His eyes lit up and he nodded. "It would seem so."

"You're such a nerd." I chucked softly, before leaning down, bringing myself nose-to-nose with him. "But you're _my_ nerd." I added, as I closed the gap between us, and my lips met his.

_Oh god. This is really happening._

My heart skipped a beat as Freed's hand slipped up my back and curled around the nape of my neck, pulling me closer, deepening the kiss. I nipped at his soft, plump lips, being as gentle as possible. I could tell right away that it was his first kiss, he had the slightest air of hesitation surrounding him, like he wasn't sure what to do. So I took the liberty of showing him what the definition of a perfect kiss was. His breath was hot against my cheek, and had become a bit frantic. His fingers were tangled in my shirt, gripping it so hard I knew I couldn't pull away until he let go.

Finally, it was time for some air. I slowly pulled away, my eyes drifting open. He released my shirt and also pulled back, gazing at me with such tender love and adoration that I suddenly _really_ wanted to kiss him again. I settled for resting our foreheads together instead.

"You okay?" I asked, softly.

There was silence for a moment, then Freed giggled quietly, barely audible over my pounding heartbeat. "T-That was _awesome."_

I laughed at that, rumpling his hair and pecking his forehead. "You're such a dork. Come on, we should get back out there. Ever's gonna be looking for us soon." I put my hand over his, smiling as I helped him stand up with me. "God, you're so damn short."

"Shut up. You're too tall." he retorted, grimacing slightly.

"If you say so." I chuckled. "Oh, and Freed? We can't tell anyone about... This. About us." I gestured to our locked hands and slowly released his.

"Why not?" he gave me a weird look.

"I'm not ready for that yet." I said. "Just please keep it a secret for now, okay? We can tell everyone another time, when it's not so... New."

"O-Okay... I guess I... U-Understand..." Freed nodded and followed me back out to the cafe.

_I just don't want anyone to know that I, Laxus Dreyar, am in love with Freed Justine, a male. It would be so embarrassing because... Well... I'd rather be straight._

**-**

**To be continued...**


	6. I promise

_"I wanna know if I could be the one. Would you wanna wake up next to me? I wanna know if you would stay or run, if every night wasn't ecstasy..." _

-Sickick, "I Wanna Know"

**Just for the record, I am not very happy with how this chapter came out so I'm really sorry for the poor quality. I hope you enjoy it regardless :")**

-

_Freed POV_

Something inside me had been set free, cut loose. Two things had happened that I always assumed were just dreams, never to become reality. Laxus had kissed me... And he had touched my hands. I was panicking at first, seeing as the last time someone had touched my hand was to hurt it many years ago, but eventually I relaxed once I realized he wasn't hurting me. He'd never hurt me.

And then my first kiss happened, which I was absolutely starstruck about for the longest time after. I still couldn't believe it happened at all.

A few days later, I still couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it even though we were all eating lunch together and I had my arm looped through Laxus's under the table, where the others couldn't see. Occasionally he'd run his fingers across the back of my hand with the most tender, gentle touch, making me blush. Thanks to him, I no longer hated my hands. He treated them like they were the best hands in the world. And that made me feel like he really, truly loved me.

I laughed at something Evergreen had just said, right as Bickslow returned with a job flier in hand. "Yo, I think we should take this job on." he announced, in his usual volume: very loud.

"What class is it?" Laxus asked, popping a piece of chicken into his mouth.

"S." The beefy marionette mage dropped the flier on the table for us to look at.

Evergreen whistled in admiration. "It pays twelve million jewel. That's three million for each of us. Goddamn."

"Language." I chastised as I carefully leaned forward, ignoring the large reward and reading the job description. "This rich man wants us to eliminate a dark guild full of magic-using bandits that keep attacking and plundering his trains, stealing his merchandise."

"What does this guy sell?" Laxus gently nudged me out of the way so he could look too. "Oh nice, he sells gold chains. Solid, pure gold. No wonder he's so rich."

"And these lowlifes are stealing them?" Ever grinned. "Sounds like a piece of cake. No dark guild is strong or smart enough to beat us. We're the Thunder Legion, for fuck's sake, we've got a reputation much more high-priced than a thousand of those gold chains."

"Hmm. Don't get cocky, they can still use magic and they have the advantage in numbers." I shot her a glare. "And for God's sake, watch your language."

Laxus patted my hand comfortingly, saying, "It's alright, Freed, she's not as well disciplined as you are. Naturally, she's gonna have a bit of a potty mouth."

"You insult me." Ever rolled her eyes.

"I insult you with the best thing ever: the truth." Laxus shot back, taking another bite of his food.

"So do you wanna take the job?" Bickslow demanded.

"I'm okay with whatever." I shrugged as I allowed Laxus to smooth his thumb across the back of my hand, grazing my knuckles and the bases of my fingers. "It's your call."

"I say we take it and show these bandit-wannabe's who's boss." Laxus nodded his agreement. "Sounds like fun, and I've been itching to electrocute something lately..."

"I would like to take it as well, just to reinforce our reputation as the strongest team in all of Fairy Tail." Evergreen decided, planting her hands on the table.

"Hey!" Natsu's head shot up from where he was sitting, pink hair sticking up in every possible direction. "I heard that!"

Laxus's head whipped around to glare at the other dragon slayer. "Shut the hell up, you jealous little pile of dragon shit!"

"Laxus!" I burst out laughing, quickly clamping my hand over my mouth to quell my giggles. "Watch your profanity, baka!"

Laxus glanced over his shoulder at me with a playful smirk. "Sorry, Freed, I've gotta show the little kid who's boss. Clearly he has no idea."

I chuckled and glanced at Evergreen. She was eyeing Laxus with admiration sparkling in her pale green eyes. For whatever reason, I felt a pang of... Jealousy? Why? She wasn't even doing anything, and I was just being annoyed because someone else found my Laxus worth looking at.

I reached out and yanked on the blonde's sleeve to get his attention.

"Laxus? Do you need anything?" I asked, sweetly.

"No, I'm alright. Thank you." Laxus smiled before returning to his back-and-forth quarreling with Natsu, whom was absolutely furious that someone else thought they were better than him.

-

The very next day, we started off on the mission. Mirajane had very reluctantly given us permission to go, but her obvious hesitance didn't stop us. It did make me worry a little bit, but I've never been any good at voicing my thoughts, so I ended up not saying anything at all.

We decided to take the train, even though Laxus wasn't very fond of the idea, what with his motion sickness and all. The mission was way too far away to get there by walking, so we agreed to go halfway by train, the last half by walking.

Once the train started moving, Laxus was instantly uncomfortable. He was sitting next to me, his hands clasped in his lap. I was reading a book, as usual, and kept throwing him sideways glances to make sure he was okay. The town of Magnolia flew by out the window, which I was sitting next to. White buildings, colorful flags, cobblestone roads and innocent people all became a jumbled blur, whipping by too fast for the eye to follow.

"Hmm. It's nice being on the road again." I remarked, opening my book and beginning to read.

"It really is, sometimes I forget how much I miss this kind of action." Ever agreed, from where she was sitting across from Laxus, facing us.

"Hehe, I'm excited to get there and see what kind of skulls my babies can crack." Bickslow grinned widely as he brandished one of his dolls. He was sitting across from me, and we were playfully kicking each other.

"We've only just started moving and I already want to get off." Laxus grumbled, wiping sweat from his brow. "Ugh, I hate this."

I patted his muscular arm comfortingly. "We won't be on here for too long, don't worry." I told him, in what I hoped was a calm, soothing voice. He had told me that my voice was always so soft and sweet that it was naturally soothing.

"I wanna go home." he shifted back against his seat, groaning.

"Poor Laxus." Evergreen chuckled softly. "Yes never really taken well to vehicles."

"Not at all." I agreed.

A few minutes later, Laxus startled me by muttering something about needing to lie down and actually lying down across my lap, on his side. I jumped a little and immediately blushed, but nobody else seemed to mind. It was kinda normal for Laxus to do things like this when he was motion sick. He would just adopt the nearest person's lap so he could lie down.

I sighed and returned to my book, absentmindedly combing my fingers through his blonde hair. Something about being this close to Laxus felt right.

"You two would make a cute couple." Bickslow remarked, and for a second I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. He wasn't. "Laxus seems totally into you, dude."

"He does? Hmm. I haven't noticed." I shrugged. I was mostly being sarcastic, but he thought I was being genuine because he laughed loudly.

"Oh come on, you are so blind! How do you think he puts up with you all the time? I mean, you are equivalent to a clingy puppy around him, and he doesn't seem to mind at all. He goes with it. Because he likes you." Bix crossed his arms with a big, goofy grin spread across his face.

"That's interesting." I rolled my eyes. "I'm gonna leave it up to him to tell me what he thinks of me, but thank you, Bix."

"Why are you so polite?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. "I would say it's annoying, but it's more interesting than anything. How do you manage to be well-mannered even when someone like me is picking on ya?"

"Self discipline." I looked up at him with a small smile. "I've always treated everyone as equals, regardless of behavior. It's just something I practice, something I've taught myself over the years."

"That's really neat, Freed." Evergreen nodded, pushing her glasses up on her nose.

"Huh. I can always admire a guy with morals and a sense of honor and dignity. Even if that guy is a little pipsqueak who reads too much." Bickslow winked, letting me know that he was just teasing. "Hey, small fry, just wanted to let you know that I feel kinda bad for tripping you up the other day. Laxus told me off, and I guess I realized I've been such a jerk lately."

"No, don't worry about it. It was nothing. And I should've been more patient with you." I waved a hand dismissively, offering him a genuine smile. "We're friends, right? So it should be normal for us to get a little rough with each other sometimes."

"Huh. Laxus was right. You are by far the most reasonable person I have ever met." Bix regarded me with curiosity in his pale blue eyes. "And I can appreciate that. Thanks, Freed."

"I'm glad you two are finally getting along." Ever said, leaning forward to take my book from me. "I'm stealing your book, Freed, I'm bored."

"Alright." I reluctantly agreed. "It's written in Russian, I don't know if you can read it..."

"I can. Russian is my second language. But damn, just how many languages can you speak, Freed?" she gave me a wide-eyed stare of fascination.

"Any and all. That's one of the perks of being a rune mage. Runes are composed of every single language there is, that's why only a select few people are able to read them." I explained, beaming with pride. Not many people knew that I was capable of speaking, reading and writing every single language there was. "As such, I'm fluent in all languages."

"Whoa." Bickslow's mouth dropped open. "Goddamn. You have to teach me to do that sometime."

I slapped one hand to my forehead, laughing. "Unfortunately learning every single language on the planet is something you would not be able to accomplish in your lifetime. Sorry, Bix."

"Dammit." he swore, feigning disappointment.

"Language." I said.

We went on in silence. Ever was reading my book, Laxus was soundly sleeping in my lap, Bickslow was messing with his dolls, and I was staring out the window, watching rolling hills and grassy planes go by. The trip lasted another two hours.

Evergreen and I took turns with the book, seeing as we both needed something to do. When the train stopped and we got off, Laxus immediately popped back to life and reverted back to his normal self. He was all kinds of excited to get there and start taking down some dark guild members, so we had to tell him several times to slow down.

But trying to keep up with Laxus was like trying to convince a lion to become a vegetarian, so by the end of the first hour we spent walking, we were all exhausted. I bent over and put my hands on my knees, gasping for breath.

We were surrounded by round, soft-looking hills and long, tall blades of grass that covered the entire area like an emerald blanket. The sky was so vast and blue out here, in the open countryside, that it looked like it might go on forever when you looked up at it. A few puffy white cumulus clouds drifted lazily across the massive expanse of blue, and in the distance a dark line was forming on the horizon, promising a violent thunderstorm before the day was over.

"Man. I could really... Go for some tea right about now..." I panted, chest heaving with exertion.

"We really should've said fuck motion sickness and stayed on the damn train..." Evergreen grumbled, as she slowly sat down in the lime green grass.

I didn't even have the energy to tell her to watch her language, although I sorely wanted to. Laxus turned and saw us all slumped on the ground, gasping and wheezing. He made a face, somewhere between disgusted and amused.

"Tch. And you call yourselves the Thunder Legion." he taunted.

I grimaced and lifted my head to glare at him. "You're such a slave driver on missions, honestly. Slow down, or I'll put a rune on you that'll _make_ you slow down." I warned.

"I'd like to see you try, nerd." Laxus winked at me playfully. "I'm too fast for you."

At that, I grinned in return. "That remains to be seen, Dreyar." I only ever used his last name when I was feeling competitive. But I knew for a fact that he wasn't anywhere near as fast as me, even when I was exhausted like this.

"Is that a challenge, Justine?" the blonde smirked, as if he was so sure he was about to beat me.

"What if it is?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Race you to the nearest tree!" Laxus turned and bolted, not even giving me a chance to prepare.

Fortunately, I didn't need time to prepare. I sprang into motion the moment I realized what was happening. The nearest tree was a football field away, halfway up the nearest hill. I smiled. This would be easy. I put on a burst of speed and caught up to Laxus within the next five seconds. Passed him in the next ten, staying neck-and-neck with him just to mess with him. He let out a shout of bewilderment as I shot ahead and reached the tree a solid half minute before he did.

"Jesus dammit!" Laxus shouted as he finally made it to the tree, which I was casually leaning against.

"Watch your mouth, you know I beat you fair and square." I shot back.

Bickslow and Evergreen were two tiny dots at the bottom of the hill, on their way up. Even from here I could hear Bickslow's loud, booming laugh as if he were standing right next to me.

"That was awesome!" he hollered at us.

I waved a hand at them before turning to Laxus. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before challenging me to a race, baka."

Laxus nodded as he doubled over, winded. "Lesson learned. Touché."

I smirked, satisfied. "Good. Now, why don't we wait for those two and keep going at a much slower pace from here on out?" I suggested, knowing he had no choice but to agree now that I'd bested him.

"Of course." he agreed, lowering his head in defeat.

I patted his shoulder, laughing. "Don't be discouraged, Laxus, it's not like there aren't other things you can beat me at."

"I really thought I was gonna win." he huffed, sitting down heavily in the grass.

"I wouldn't have let you." I sat down with him, on bended knees. "I'm speedy."

"That's an understatement." he laughed softly and put his hand on my leg, and I was immediately a blushing, stammering mess. He noticed, of course he did. "You know, you're really cute when you're all flustered."

"Shush." I swatted his arm, trying to regain my ability to speak coherently.

Evergreen and Bickslow made it up the hill around three minutes later. They had been taking their sweet time, and found Laxus and I sitting under the tree. I had my back against the trunk, quietly reading my book. Laxus was sitting next to me, cross-legged, studying the emerald canopy of leaves over our heads.

"Hah! Gay!" Bickslow shouted, teasingly.

"Good afternoon to you as well." I yawned, turning a page in my book.

"Sorry we took so long, we're both kinda worn out. Freed was right, Laxus, you are an absolute slave driver when we're out on missions." Evergreen dusted off her dress with a huff of indignance.

"Too bad, so sad. Our Freed here just wore me out with that race, so you're gonna be fine." Laxus retorted, giving her a sharp glare.

"Aw man, you're so mean, Laxus!" Bickslow hollered, raising his arms in outrage.

I chuckled softly. "Perhaps we can keep going for another two hours or so before we stop to rest for the night."

"In two hours, the sun will be up still, Freed." Laxus glanced at me sidelong.

"Exactly. We need time to rest, slave driver." I smiled.

"Alright, alright. You've made your points. Two more hours of walking it is, then we stop for the day. Sorry for being so rough on y'all." Laxus slowly rose to his feet and went to help me up, but I shrugged him off and got up all on my own.

"Don't worry, I can handle myself. Don't bother." I said, not unkindly.

He nodded, and so we continued on.

-

"This looks like a pretty nice place to stop for the night." Evergreen remarked, as she glanced around at the open meadow we had just walked into.

The grass was absolutely gorgeous here, so tall it went up to my waist and everyone else's thighs. There were beautiful flowers of every shape, size and color, like tall, proud sunflowers standing high above the grass or dainty blue orchids twisting up their vines along the trees, which were few and far in between. The birds were singing, and the sun was beginning to set, turning into a glowing orange ball of fire in the West. The sky itself seemed ablaze with so many bright, vivid sunset colors. It was lovely. Absolutely lovely.

"I agree. Let's make camp here." I nodded and started to sit down, but Laxus put a hand on my arm, stopping me.

"Here, why don't you come on a walk with me? I wanna talk about something." he said, in a lowered voice.

I stared up into his gorgeous blue eyes for a moment before complying. "Yes, of course. Let's get going, then." I started to walk with him, out into the vast expanse of grass before us.

We walked in silence for several minutes. I didn't mind, I was enjoying the peaceful tranquility of the meadow. Everything looked and smelled and sounded so good, so natural. It was almost surreal, dream-like. This was the kind of place you only read about in books. And it was very romantic, I had to admit.

"I'm sorry for dragging you out here again, you must be exhausted from today." Laxus apologized.

"No, no, it's okay. I'll do anything for you, no matter how tired I am." I rushed to reassure him. I always hated it when he thought he was overworking me or taking advantage of me. I loved to help him, and I didn't want to stop any time soon. I wasn't going to stop until I died.

"Still. I feel bad for making you keep going after such a long day..." he slowly, tentatively reached out and grasped my hand. Despite the fact I had given him permission to touch my hands, I still wasn't used to the contact, so he always made sure to move slowly. I really appreciated that. "I didn't really want to talk about anything, I just wanted to spend some time with you."

And just like that, my blushing and stammering returned. "R-Really? I-I didn't think I was t-that important to you..." I looked down at the ground, which was swallowed up by grass.

"Of course you are. Freed, you're so precious to me. And I mean that." he smoothed his thumb across the back of my hand, the touch soft and sweet. "I want to spend every waking moment with you, but... We can't... Be like this around Ever and Bix. It would be so awkward."

"I u-understand, no need to explain." I waved a hand dismissively despite feeling slightly disappointed by this. I always thought Ever and Bix would be accepting of our relationship... If it even was one... So it did make me wonder why Laxus didn't feel the same as well.

"Thank you. You're such an angel, honestly. So sweet and understanding." Laxus gave me the most tender, loving smile I had ever seen in my life. My heart melted.

"I-I..." I lost my ability to speak again. He always left me struggling to find my voice.

So I carefully untangled my hand from his and skipped ahead a few paces, almost completely vanishing in the tall grass. Laxus followed, unsure of what I was up to. But he didn't try to stop me. I searched through the tall blades of emerald around me until I found what I was looking for. I carefully plucked the cluster of pretty white tulips from the ground where they were hidden in the grass and quickly returned to Laxus's side, unable to stop smiling.

"What were you up to over there?" he asked, tilting his head at me curiously.

I didn't say anything. I just shyly presented him with the flowers, making it as obvious as possible that I had picked them for him. A slow grin spread across his face as he took the tulips from me and admired them for a moment. Then his gaze returned to me, and it was so intense that I felt like I was gonna faint.

"You clever, clever little nerd." he said, as he hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me up close so I was pressed against him. "You know I love you so much, you don't need to say or do anything to remind me."

"Yes I do." I automatically replied. "Y-You're special to me."

"And you're so cute when you're all shy and sincere like this." Laxus slowly leaned in closer, making it obvious he wanted to kiss me.

"Laxus..." I whispered, reaching up to caress his cheek. His skin was smooth and warm, and very inviting.

He didn't reply, he just gently brushed a strand of hair out of my face and pressed his lips to mine. I swear my entire body caught fire in that moment. I was practically glowing with warmth. I closed my eyes and cupped his face between both hands, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. I just wanted to be touching in as many places as possible. After years and years of silent love and adoration, I needed this.

_After trying so hard, doing all the little things just to make him notice me... Here we are._

"Oh, Freed." Laxus muttered, as he pulled away.

I stared up at him expectantly, lips slightly parted. "Yes, Laxus?"

"You're the most beautiful creature I've ever met, don't you ever let anyone tell you different." he said, running his fingers through my hair and pecking my lips again.

I nodded eagerly. "I won't. I promise."

"And your word is steel. I know I can trust you to keep that promise." he glanced down at my hands, which were still holding either side of his face. "Your hands are so warm and soft, what the hell."

"S-Sorry..." thinking I had done something wrong, I quickly withdrew my hands and started to turn away.

"No, wait, don't go." Laxus grabbed my wrists and spun me back around towards him. "I wasn't upset. I love your hands. They're perfect. Just like you." he reassured, running his fingers across my palms. Suddenly his expression became one of concern and he pressed both of my hands together between his, raising them to his lips and pressing a series of soft, gentle kisses across the backs of my fingers. "We should reach that dark guild by tomorrow, Freed. I want you to promise me that you won't overdo it trying to protect me. I love you so much, I don't want to see you get hurt because you want to keep me safe."

I considered his request, but even though I hated myself for telling him no, I slowly shook my head. "I'm sorry, Laxus, but that's a promise I may not be able to keep. And as a rune mage, I refuse to tell a lie. I will not lie to you, I will not break a promise I've made to you." I said.

"Freed, please. I can't let anything bad happen to you." he gave me such a sad, pleading look I wanted to hold him close and tell him everything was gonna be okay.

"I can't let anything happen to you either. That's part of my mission, to serve you in any way possible. Even if I got hurt. Even if it cost me my life. I mean that, Laxus." I learned forward and stood on my toes to kiss his warm forehead. "I would lay down my life for you. That's something that'll never change. Because I love you, more than you could ever imagine."

Laxus closed his eyes and nodded, still holding my hands to his lips. Even though he didn't like what he was hearing, he still accepted it anyway. "Okay. I understand. Just... Be careful, okay?"

"I'll try." I agreed. "But once again, I'm not gonna make a promise I won't be able to keep."

"Shush. Stop making me worry." Laxus pulled me closer, a protective growl escaping his lips. "It's not in my best interests to lose you."

"Nor I you." I snuggled up against his chest, savoring the warmth of his skin. I nuzzled at his neck until I found his ear. "I promise to keep you safe, Laxus Dreyar, no matter what happens, no matter the cost." I whispered.

"No, don't, Freed. Don't do that." Laxus started to protest, but it was too late. He sighed and hugged me so tightly I thought I heard my ribs crack. "You're such a foolish idiot, why did you do that? I can't... I just can't let anything happen to you, goddammit. Stop making this so difficult."

"I'm sorry, I had to." I looked down at the ground, suddenly shy again. "For my own sake."

"Alright. Just... Don't do it again, alright? Because you may not be able to keep that promise either." he gave me a stern look.

"Actually I can. You'd be surprised at how intense and strong a determined rune mage can be. They can hurt you once they've broken my body beyond recognition. Because until they've killed me so dead I'm not even recognizable, I'll be fighting tooth and nail to keep you safe." I returned his stern look.

He groaned and plunked his head down on my shoulder. "Stop it. You're not helping any."

"I'm sorry." I cradled his head.

He muttered something in response and tucked something behind my ear. I reached up to figure out what it was, my fingers brushed against soft petals. He had put one of the tulips I had given him in my hair.

"It looks good there. Really suits you." he told me. Then he was kissing me again.

This time, he seemed a bit more aggressive. He slowly pushed me back until I was pressed up against a nearby tree, looming over me, kissing me deeply. He grasped my wrists, pinning me to the tree. The bark dug painfully into my skin, and I would've said so, but he was completely smothering me. A small gasp escaped my lips as he slipped his tongue into my mouth. It was such a strange but pleasant sensation. I didn't want this to end, but there was a bitter tone to the sweetness. I could barely breathe. And the way he was pinning me was possessive, frightening. I'll be honest, this was so sudden and unexpected and _forced _that he was scaring me.

He broke the kiss, but not contact. Next thing I knew, he was peppering kisses down the side of my neck. My breath hitched in my throat and I just barely managed to gasp out his name.

"L-Laxus... Gah..! What... W-What are you... D-Doing?"

I think he suddenly realized what he was doing, because he jumped back, releasing my wrists in a hurry. "Shitfuck, I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed, pulling me away from the tree and taking me into his arms, holding me close and stroking my hair.

I was absolutely dazed, shocked, even. My knees were shaking, suddenly too weak to support my weight. I stumbled and collapsed. Fortunately, Laxus was there to catch me.

"Freed? Freed, talk to me, please. Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that." He slowly sank to his knees, laying me across his lap, brushing my hair out of my face. "Say something, please. Did I hurt you? Oh god, please don't tell me I hurt you..."

"N-No you didn't..." I managed to say, covering my face with both hands. "I-I'm alright... I just... couldn't breathe, that's all..."

"Oh god, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I don't know what came over me, I just couldn't control myself... No, no, it's okay, I'm sorry." Laxus carefully raised me to a sitting position, cuddling me close. "Man, I feel terrible. I'm so sorry. Really I am."

I couldn't do anything but nod. I felt so small and helpless, defenseless. He was so strong and powerful, and for once, that was a bad thing. What if he hadn't stopped? Just how far would he have gone? And would he have cared if I said no or not? I shook those thoughts out of my head. He realized what he was doing and stopped. That said something about him, he really didn't want to hurt me.

"Alright... They'll be looking for us. We should get back. I'm sorry, Freed." Laxus helped me get up and we walked back to the camp Evergreen and Bickslow had composed in silence.

Ever and Bix were happy to see us, they had been worried and were planning on coming out to find us. I was glad they were so patient. We all sat around a large fire and ate dinner together, chattering about this and that. I stayed completely silent all evening long. I wasn't upset with Laxus. Not in the slighest. I was thinking about something else entirely.

The promise I had made to keep him safe no matter what.

His words were coming back to haunt me. _"You may not be able to keep that promise"_. It chilled me to the bone just to think about failing Laxus. What if he was right and I couldn't protect him? What if I was too weak? I'd never forgive mysef for that. I was duty and honor-bound to guard him with my life. I wasn't about to lose the most precious thing that had ever happened to me.

That night, we all slept on the cold, hard ground in the even colder night air. I think Laxus must've thought I was mad at him, because he kept glancing at me when he thought I wasn't looking.

I waited until Ever and Bix fell asleep before I got up and moved to where Laxus was laying. He wasn't asleep at all, and kinda stirred when he saw me approaching. "Freed? What're you doing up?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

I didn't respond. I just curled up beside him and tucked my head under his chin. I knew that small gesture was enough to tell him I wasn't upset with him at all, that he was forgiven. He slipped his strong arms around me and held me close, kissing the top of my head. We stayed like that all night long, keeping each other warm.

_To be continued..._

**In the next chapter, they're gonna take on the dark guild and shits gonna get crazy so brace yourselves!!! That's all I have to say. It's 1:27 in the damn morning, I need to publish this and get my ass in bed. **

**TO ALL MY DANGANRONPA FANS: I just published a new fic featuring Celestia Ludenburg. It's called "Intonation", please give it a read sometime. **

**Alright time to sleep. Love y'all. See ya.**

**_-UltimatexAdmin_**


	7. Your screams, they haunt me

_"The worst thing in the world is watching someone you love suffer in pain when there is nothing nothing you can do to stop it."_

-Vanessa Wilholt

**-**

Laxus POV

The dark guild was ten times stronger than we'd anticipated. When we reached them, our expectations were pretty low. After all, these guys sounded like thieving lowlifes who spent all their time stealing because it was the easiest crime to commit. But they turned out to be a legitimate dark guild with legitimately powerful wizards. It wasn't an S-Class job for no damn reason. But fortunately, we were S-Class wizards.

Bickslow's dolls had completely ransacked the guild's tall black building, chewing holes in the walls, smashing every window, and destroying everything and everyone inside. It was a very effective attack, because it drew all thirty of the dark guild members out. And boy, were they angry!

I leapt out of the way as the ground where I had been standing a second ago exploded, dirt erupting from the new crater in the earth. I could feel the heat of the explosion from here, it made my skin burn uncomfortably.

I growled low in my throat as the fire mage approached me. She was a dark guild member, with the ability to cause explosions wherever she pleased. She was clad in red and orange robes, and her hair was a dirty brown color. All in all, she wasn't very attractive at all, but man was she dangerous.

"Maybe you should've thought twice before attacking our guild, bastard." she taunted.

I smirked. "Maybe you should've thought twice before assuming you're too much for me to handle."

I called upon my magic, and it responded. Electricity crackled all along my body, yellow and white bolts jumping off my skin and sparking in the air. The fire mage's eyes widened slightly when she saw it.

"Y-You're Laxus Dreyar..!" she exclaimed, shocked out of her wits.

"Seems my reputation has been spreading around lately." I took a few steps closer, she took a few steps back. "What's the matter? Weren't you all big and tough just a moment ago? I'm not even the captain of the Thunder Legion and you're already quaking in your boots."

Freed was the captain of the Thunder Legion, I was the lightning. But even so, Freed was ten times scarier than I was, especially when he used his Dark Ericiture magic.

Suddenly the fire mage's face contorted into a defiant glare. She really was ugly. "If that's the case... This shouldn't be a problem at all and I'll return to my guild that your Marionette wizard so kindly destroyed with your head on a silver platter."

"I'd like to see you try." I called forth a bolt of lightning from the sky, but she saw it coming and sprang to one side right as it hit the ground with a deafening clap of thunder.

"Yaaaaa!" she screamed, tackling me as a chain of explosions followed her every step.

Her arms wrapped around my neck and she drove me to my knees, punching me in the jaw. I'll admit, she was pretty strong because that kinda hurt, but she wasn't strong enough. As she readied another explosion, I grinned sloppily at her.

"Did nobody tell you that you should never, under any circumstances, touch a thunder dragon slayer?" I snapped my fingers, and she shrieked in agony as her entire body became a conduit for an electricity surge I summoned from the ground.

She collapsed into a heap in the grass, muscles twitching and spazzing uncontrollably, moaning in pain. I dusted myself off and whirled around to face the next enemy. It was a tall, lanky guy with greasy black hair plastered to his neck and disgustingly pale skin. He grinned at me with black, crooked teeth and suddenly an icicle spear flew right at me, nearly skewering me like a fish. A well-placed lightning bolt shattered the spear. I had sparred with Gray Fullbuster enough to know how to quickly and effectively dispatch ice mages.

With a hiss of outrage, the skinny guy fired another spear at me. Once again, I handled it easily. Was that the only trick he had up his sleeve? Damn, this guy was weak. He was nothing like Gray, who could make pretty much anything out of ice and turn it against you.

I took care of the wannabe ice mage with a quick flash of lightning. It was almost insultingly easy.

"Laxus! Watch out!" Freed's familiar voice shouted, from where he was engaged in a heated sword duel with a card magic-user.

I turned around to face the danger, just in time to see the flashing silver blur of a dagger that had been flung right at me. I raised my hand to shoot electricity at it and knock it off its trajectory but I was too slow. It was about to hit me square in the chest. I braced for the horrible bite of steel in my flesh, but none came. There was a metallic clang, and I realized the knife had stopped dead in the air. It was being held up by a series of flashing purple runes.

I glanced over my shoulder at Freed. He was still tangling with the card magic guy, but he had somehow managed to construct a rune barrier around me without being anywhere near me. I whistled in admiration. His sword was a blur of motion as he slashed left and right, gracefully battering down his opponent's defenses with ease. It was like a dance, an elegant dance of death.

I had let my guard down, admittedly so. Whoever had thrown the dagger at me the first time had more knives, and Freed's rune barrier had disappeared because he thought I was aware of the danger now.

Suddenly bright, stinging pain flared up in my left thigh. I let out a bellow of agony and went down, hard. I landed on my shoulder, which screamed in protest as I hit the ground. The hilt of a knife protrudes from the side of my thigh, the sharp steel buried deep in my flesh. Already, a dark starburst of blood was blooming around the hilt, staining my khaki pants.

"Laxus!" Freed shouted, voice high-pitched with panic. He made quick work of the card magic guy, slicing him to ribbons, before running over to me, jade hair streaming out behind him. "Are you alright? Oh, Jesus Christ, who did that to you?" his whole expression darkened when he saw the knife in my leg.

Weakly, I gestured to the tall, beefy guy several yards away that was using metal magic to control his knives with his mind. "I'm alright, it didn't go in that deep." I reassured, wincing as Freed's fingers brushed across the hilt of the knife. "It just hurts, really fucking badly."

Freed rose to his feet, shaking with anger. Purple runes flickered around his fingers, circling his palms. He was pissed. His right eye, which was usually concealed beneath his bangs, had turned a swirling neon purple color, and the white of his eye had turned obsidian black. It was terrifying. Dark Ericiture Freed was back, and he was more angry than I had ever seen him in my life. The knife-weilder grinned and cocked his arm back to throw a dagger at the rune mage.

With a scream of absolute rage, Freed sprang at him, hands flying in elegant, frantic motions as he drew a complicated series of runes in the air, too fast for my eyes to follow.

"You hurt my Laxus! You're gonna fucking pay for this!" Freed shrieked, slamming into the knife-weilder with such speed and ferocity I heard bones cracking and fracturing.

_Oh damn. Freed just said a swear word. He's really fucking mad. _My heart dropped into my stomach.

The knife-weilder grunted in pain and staggered back, but recovered quickly and drew his arm back to exchange blows with Freed. His hand slapped into an invisible wall. But it wasn't invisible anymore. A solid wall of angrily flickering purple runes appeared, surrounding the guy.

"Dark Ericiture: Detonation!" Freed shouted, quickly drawing out a small set of runes and launching them at the massive rune wall.

As soon as the two rune sets collided, the knife-weilder within the wall of runes gave out one last scream of agony as he exploded. That's exactly what happened. He simply exploded. Flesh and bone fragments flew everywhere, mixed with massive amounts of blood. A dying scream of pain lingered in the air. All that was left of the knife-weilder was a smear of blood, gore, skin tissue and brain matter splattered on the ground where he'd been standing a moment ago. The rune wall had vanished, as well as the small set of runes that had caused him to go up in flames like that.

My eyes were wide with shock and horror. Freed was capable of some pretty scary shit. No, that was more than scary. That was mind-numbingly terrifying.

Now that Freed was over his little angry rush, his eyes had widened to the size of little moons set into his face. He clapped his hands over his mouth, all the color draining from his face, as he realized what he'd just done. I felt a pang of sympathy. He scared himself sometimes, with how terrifyingly powerful he was.

He turned slowly and started walking back to me, eyes sparkling with tears. "A-Are you alri-..?" he started to ask, but he wasn't able to finish his sentence.

The dark guild members weren't so happy to see one of their comrades explode. So two of them rushed Freed. My eyes widened as the little rune mage was suddenly forced back against a wall. He drew his sword and started fending them off viciously. I started struggling to get up. He was outnumbered and freaking out. There was no way he'd survive that. I had to help him. Right as electricity began flickering between my fingers, right as I managed to get to my feet, something absolutely horrible happened.

I've never been able to get it out of my head, it still haunts me to this day.

One of the taller, more powerful mages managed to pin Freed's sword arm up against the stone wall behind him. Before he could struggle, the other mage brought down a heavy hammer on Freed's hand, crushing it into the wall. There was the horrible sound of tendons snapping, bones fracturing, wrist breaking. My eyes went so wide I feared they'd pop right out of my skull.

Freed's scream of absolute excruciating agony seemed to come from everywhere at once, so loud and high-pitched I feared my ears would start bleeding.

"Oh my god!" I shouted. "Freed!"

I rushed forward to help him, injury suddenly forgotten amidst the shot of adrenaline coursing through my veins right now. Freed's scream ended in a wailing sob of pain, and he sank to his knees, clutching his wrist, which was bent at an awkward angle, betraying the fact it was broken. Lightning crackled in the air over my head as I fired several electricity bolts at the two mages cornering Freed, being careful not to hit my injured partner on accident. He was already in enough pain as it was.

I made quick work of those two idiots who had dared to hurt my Freed. They tried to fight back, but couldn't once they had a strong dose of my electricity coursing through their veins.

"Oh no... No... Freed..." I whispered, as I slowly sank to my knees in front of the broken rune mage. There was blood everywhere.

Freed had curled into a little ball, knees drawn up to his chest, sobbing so hard he couldn't breathe. His whole face was contorted into a horrible expression of pain. His hand, which he was clutching so tightly his knuckles were turning white, was a bloody, mangled mess. His fingers were bent at all the wrong angles, every single one of them broken. His palm and the back of his hand were torn to shreds. Loose strips of skin hanging off the torn flesh. Blood, so much blood...

_Oh god... He may never be able to use his left hand again... _I thought, as I tentatively crept closer.

"Freed? Oh goodness, what did they do to you? Jesus fucking Christ. I'm so sorry." I murmured, watching with wide eyes as blood dripped off his mangled flesh and spattered on the ground. Tears were streaming down his face, he didn't even look at me. "Dammit... Hey, look at me, it's okay, shhh..." I lowered my voice so it was gentle and soothing, reaching out and slipping my arms around his trembling shoulders. He was shaking so hard. "I need to bandage your hand so you don't bleed out. But this might hurt really badly. I need you to be brave for me, okay?"

I went to work, tearing off my sleeve and taking Freed's injured wrist. He cried out as soon as I touched the swollen, bruised skin. I shook my head and pulled him closer, whispering soft reassurances into his hair as I carefully wrapped the makeshift bandage around his injured hand. He whispered as the cloth touched the broken skin, and screamed when I tightened the bandage.

"Shit. I'm really sorry, but this is gonna have to hurt. Oh, you poor thing, I wish I could've prevented this..." I hated seeing him in so much pain, and knowing that I couldn't do anything to help.

I tore off my other sleeve and wrapped it around the one I had already tied off. The less blood that managed to escape, the better. I was fully aware that what I was doing was only causing him even more pain, and I hated myself for hurting him, but I really didn't want him to bleed to death. Finally, the tedious process was over and I could pick him up. I gently guided his shaking limbs so his hands were resting on his chest. It would be easier to carry him that way.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." I pulled him closer, sliding my arms under his legs so I could scoop him up.

He let out a weak, strangled whimper of pain. "I-It hurts!" he cried.

"I know, I'm so sorry." I cradled his body to my chest and started running, being careful not to jostle him too much. "It's gonna be alright, Freed. You're gonna be okay. Let's find Evergreen and Bickslow and let's get out of here."

It only took me a moment to locate our other teammates. They had finished off most of the dark guild members, the last few were running scared. Evergreen was picking them off one by one from the air, reinforced and protected by Bickslow's dolls, which circled her like a flock of angry birds.

"Guys! We have to go!" I shouted at them.

"HOLY SHIT!" Bix roared, once he saw the broken figure nestled in my arms. He came running over, eyes wide with worry. "Whoa! What happened to Freed?! Is he okay?!"

"No he isn't, they got him really badly." I shook my head sadly. "We have to go right now, and get him back to a healer. If we don't hurry, he might never use his hand again." I pushed past him and hollered at Evergreen to hurry up and get down here.

She complied once she realized Freed was hurt and quickly returned to the ground, wings disappearing into her back.

"Oh god, just what have they done to him?" her eyes widened when she saw all the blood.

"His hand. They crushed his hand." I explained, glancing down at Freed. "And the pain is so bad it's completely incapacitated him."

"Jesus Christ." she clapped one hand over her mouth.

"Let's get home. We've completed the job anyway." Bickslow turned and led the way to the nearest train station.

Normally I would've been pissed about having to take a vehicle of any sort, but right now, Freed was more important and I was willing to bear any sort of discomfort my motion sickness could throw at me if it meant he'd be okay. We had to get him to Wendy as fast as possible because as more time went by, the chance of him losing his hand altogether increased.

I couldn't handle the thought of that. Freed, sitting alone in his room, unable to use his magic, unable to move one of his hands, unable to do much of anything without help. And he'd be unable to help me like he always did. That would crush him worse than the actual loss of his rune magic.

I made it my personal mission to hold Freed during the three-hour trip home. He was lapsing in and out of unconsciousness, but when he was awake, he'd often clutch my shirt with his good hand and make small, pained noises, like soft whimpers or the occasional quiet sob of agony. I cradled his limp, trembling body to my chest, stroking his soft, silky hair in an attempt to comfort him.

"Damn. Poor little pipsqueak." Bickslow said, his voice strangely quiet compared to his usual full-blast volume.

"Don't swear. He doesn't like it." I replied, eyes transfixed on Freed's still form. He was unconscious right now, but I knew that he could be awake any second now. "But yeah, I feel so bad. If only I hadn't gotten hurt and put him in a position where he felt the need to protect me. To go to such drastic measures."

"It's not your fault, Laxus. None of us saw it coming." Evergreen reassured. "He's gonna be okay. Don't beat yourself up over what happened. He wouldn't want you to."

"You're right." I sighed. "I just... Can't get the sound of him screaming out of my head."

"He screamed when they did that to his hand?" Bickslow asked, with a hint of sympathy in his voice. I nodded, and he winced. "Jesus. That's awful."

I didn't feel the need to respond. I ran my fingers through Freed's hair, trying to offer some comfort to him. I didn't know if he could feel anything while unconscious, but if he did, then he was still in a world of pain. Perhaps my touch would help ease some of that. A few minutes later, he stirred and came awake with a weak whimper of agony.

"Shhh." I whispered, pulling him close against my chest, cradling his head. "It's okay. You're safe. I've got you. I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you again, okay?"

"You really love him, don't you?" Evergreen suddenly asked.

"I was just telling Freed that you and him would make an adorable couple, you know." Bickslow jumped in.

I glared at each of them in turn. "He's in pain, and he's in such a state because he saved my life. He might die, you know. Perhaps it's best if what might be his last moments are spent with the knowledge he is safe, loved, and well looked after."

Ever blanched and Bickslow actually leaned back a little, both shocked at the bitterness of my words. "Laxus. Don't talk like that. He isn't going to die." Box scolded, not unkindly.

"He's still bleeding." I shook my head, having completely forgotten that Freed was listening.

"But he's gonna be okay, stop despairing." Ever gave me a heartbroken look. "Please."

"I can't lose him, but let's face it. There's a major artery in his wrist that might've been severed when they crushed his hand. He might bleed out." I told her.

Suddenly another voice joined the mix. It was familiar but foreign at the same time. It was softer and laced with pain and fear. "I-I don't want to die..."

I glanced down and met glassy, tear-filled hazel eyes that wouldn't focus. Shit. Freed was still awake and alert, he'd heard everything I said. And now he thought he was dying.

"See? I told you to shut the hell up, this is what happens when you don't listen." Bix grumbled.

I gave him a sharp look before returning all my attention to the rune mage in my arms. He pressed his free hand over his eyes, beginning to sob softly.

"No... N-No..." he whimpered.

"Freed, listen to me. You are _not_ going to die. I'm here. I'm gonna take good care of you, and I'm gonna make sure you get through this." I told him, gently pulling his hand from his face and guiding it back to my chest, where he'd been clinging to my shirt for dear life.

"Laxus... I-I'm scared." Freed gave me the most heartbreaking look I had ever seen. In that moment, he seemed like nothing more than a small, frightened, innocent child.

"I know. I know. And that's totally okay. But you're not gonna die. I won't let you. I swear on my life that I will see you through this." I promised, caressing his pale face and hugging him as close as possible, trying to completely surround him in warmth. "Relax. Everything's gonna be alright. Try and get some sleep."

His familiar lavender scent was almost completely overrun by the harsh, metallic smell of blood, the watery smell of tears, and the unmistakable smell of pain. Yes, pain has a smell. And, seeing as I am a dragon slayer, I know what pain smells like. The makeshift bandage I had tied tightly around his damaged hand was already stained with fresh blood. I winced when I saw that. It was so bad it was already bleeding through. I didn't want him to die.

_But if he is gonna die... It'll be in my arms. I'm never gonna let him go._

I almost wished I knew how to cast certain spells that would tie his life force to mine so that we'd live and die together. I was sure he knew how to with his runes, but in this state, he certainly couldn't teach me.

"Good god, Laxus, I'm so sorry." Evergreen reached out and put her hand over mine. "This must be so difficult for you..."

"It is. But I'm gonna stay strong, don't worry." I gave her a halfhearted smile. "He needs me."

-

When we made it back to Fairy Tail, Bickslow ran ahead of us to get Wendy. I could hear him screaming from outside, as Ever and I approached the guild, Freed still nestled in my arms. He was completely unconscious, and had been like that for about an hour, which was absolutely terrifying. He hasn't woken up in so long that I was starting to fear the worst.

"Good ol' Bix." I muttered, as Bickslow came running out with Wendy, Erza and Natsu right behind him. It seemed he had gained a paparazzi of sorts.

"What happened?" Wendy demanded, as she reached me.

"His hand was crushed between a hammer and a wall." I replied, as she carefully examined Freed's limp form. He hung like a rag doll in my arms, so weak and floppy that I felt I might break him on accident if I wasn't careful.

"Oh damn. That's intense." Erza remarked, but then she noticed the cut on my leg, which I had forgotten about this entire time. "You're hurt too, Laxus, should you really be carrying him?"

"Shit." Natsu muttered, as he came closer and reached for Freed. "Let me help you with that..." he started to say.

I growled a warning at him, turning away, keeping myself between him and my Freed. "Don't touch him." I gave him a death look. He stared at me for a minute before raising his hands in a harmless gesture and backing off. I couldn't help but hate him in the moment for trying to take Freed from me.

Wendy turned and waved me inside, saying, "Let's get the both of you to the infirmary right away, I'll send one of my healers to take care of your leg."

I obediently followed her, pushing past Natsu without hesitation. The pinkette huffed his annoyance but didn't say anything, much to my relief. I was admittedly being unnecessarily cold towards him after he tried to take Freed from me, but I didn't want to fight right now. I needed to stay with Freed.

Once we reached the infirmary, I had to let him go so Wendy could take care of him. For the sake of being sanitary, I had to go to a different room to have my leg taken care of. I was absolutely dismayed when I found out I had to leave Freed alone for a bit, but it had to be done. My leg was beginning to hurt like a bitch now that I was fully aware of the wound, and I wanted it taken care of before it got infected.

As a male healer examined the injury to my thigh and started healing it, all I could think about was Freed. The wide-eyed look of absolute terror as his hand was cruelly crushed into the wall. The horrible sound of him screaming in pain. And lastly, the way he looked afterward: face stained with tears, eyes clenched shut, clutching his injured wrist, shrieking and sobbing in agony. It was so heartbreaking, there was so much blood. Skin torn away, mangled flesh, broken fingers, a snapped wrist. The injury was awful and disgusting to look at. I couldn't imagine what it must be like, experiencing it firsthand.

_I'm so sorry, Freed. This never should've happened. Your poor hand... The one you never let anyone except for me touch... I failed you. _

I sighed and tried my hardest to relax, but I couldn't. All I could do was lay there and hope that Freed was gonna be okay. I couldn't lose him.

_To be continued..._

**Sorry this is so sad, I'm kinda sad right now so that's how this ended up being written. I'm not so proud of it but oh well. I hope you like it. Bye.**

**_-UltimatexAdmin_**


	8. Coming out

_"I, I'll never be, be what you see inside. You say I'm not alone, but I am petrified. You say that you are close, is close the closest star? You just feel twice as far... You just feel twice as far..."_

-Twenty One Pilots, "Fake You Out"

**-**

_Freed POV_

My hand is fine, just for the record. It's totally fine. Wendy took good care of it, and it's fully operational once again. That's not the problem. In fact, what happened to my hand is the least of my problems right now.

While I was conscious on the tedious train ride back to the guild, Laxus had said something that broke my heart. No, it didn't break my heart. It completely shattered my heart. Left a big, gaping hole in my chest. And I could feel it too, like a knife protruding from my rubs, a constant burning ache.

Bickslow and Ever had asked Laxus if he loved me. And he subtly denied it. No, he didn't even do it subtly, I need to stop making it sound better than it was. He denied it altogether. Told them that he was just being so kind to me because I was injured, and needed the extra attention. You have no idea how bad that hurt. And on top of all that, he completely gave up on me and told the two of them that he thought I was gonna die.

But that's not even the worst of what he did to me.

On the train, I clearly remember how he promised he'd stay with me and see me through this horrible injury I had sustained.

_I swear on my life that I will see you through this, _he had said. Those were his exact words. And I believed them too.

But when I woke up in the infirmary, I was completely and utterly alone. Laxus wasn't there. He hadn't followed through on his promise to stay with me no matter what happened and ensure I stayed alive. He wasn't there. It was so simple, yet it hurt so badly.

So I sat alone for a few minutes, after Wendy stopped in and checked to make sure my hand was still going in the right direction and healing up. I took the time to contemplate what I had gotten myself into with Laxus. The situation felt shockingly familiar, but alien at the same time.

He had used me like this before, during the battle of Fairy Tail, which he started. He used me to hurt my friends, my comrades. People I had grown up with and known almost all my life. He made me hurt them, turning my loyalty and devotion to him against me, using it to gain the emotional leverage he needed over me to make me do whatever he wanted.

Now, it was different but... The same.

I felt like he was using me again, in a different way. He was playing me like a puppet on the end of a string, making me think he loved me and wanted me, all the while using our close bond as an excuse to nudge me into doing things I wasn't really comfortable with. The incident in the meadow came to mind. He was kissing me so hard I couldn't breathe, pinning me to a tree. I was scared in that moment, scared of him. Scared of what would happen if he didn't stop.

All the while, he continued to embrace my position as his personal bodyguard. Hell, I blew someone up (literally, mind you) to keep him safe. I almost bled out when my hand was crushed. All because I protected him. Did I really want this? So far, I hadn't gotten much of anything out of this relationship. He wouldn't even tell anyone we were together, and I saw him making eyes at Mirajane a few times recently. Did he really love me? Or was he finding new ways to make me do things for him?

I honestly felt stupid and vulnerable, like a child taking candy from a stranger. Why was I so ignorant and desperate that I fell for this? Since when was I so gullible?

_I love Laxus. It never stopped. But... This is so one-sided. All I've been doing is everything I possibly can for him. I've given and given until I had nothing left to give, for his sake. I've nearly died for him. But he never does anything for me in return, he wants to keep his "love" for me hidden, and he looks at women the exact same way he used to. He doesn't love me, he really doesn't. He's just using me again, because to him, I'm just silly, stupid Freed, falling for everything he asks me to. _

So when Laxus finally showed up, an hour after I woke up, I decided I had to say something. The door opened, and in walked the tall, muscular blonde. He closed the door behind him and smiled at me.

"Hey, nerd." he greeted. "How are you feeling?"

I ignored the question and instead asked a question of my own. "Where have you been?" I gave him a sharp look of bitter distaste.

He recognized my frustration immediately, and frowned. "Uh... Are you okay? I've been out in the cafe, like I always am. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Don't play dumb." I really wasn't in the mood for this. So I just gave it to him straight. "You promised to stay with me and make sure I was okay. You _swore_ on your _life_ that you'd see me through this! But I woke up alone, for heaven's sakes, and I've been alone for the past hour!"

"Oh shit." Laxus realized his mistake and blanched. He slapped a hand to his forehead and hung his head, thoroughly embarrassed. "Jesus Christ, Freed, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be so forgetful and irresponsible, I'm sorry. I know you can't stay mad at me forever, right?" he glanced at me with a hopeful expression.

I stared at him for a moment, unable to find my voice. But when I did, I was unable to stop the pain and sadness from creeping into my tone. "Laxus... You denied loving me. I heard you. And that... Hurt me... Worse than you can ever imagine it did. How stupid do you think I am? You don't really love me. All you're doing is using me again, making me think you have feelings for me so I'll do whatever you want and I'm tired of it." I realized I was crying, tears beginning to trace their way down my face. "I'm tired of being the sweet, gullible idiot that you get to use however you please. I want to _mean_ something to you, Laxus! I don't want to chase after a love that doesn't exist! I hate how this whole thing is one-sided. I love you with all of my heart and soul, and you just tolerate it and take advantage of it."

"Freed, stop." Laxus exclaimed, small lightning bolts crackling between and around his fingers. "That's not the way it is, and you know it."

I eyed his sparking electricity magic warily, but still continued on. "No I don't know it. If you did love me, you could at least _try_ to act like it. But this is what I get for being so damn stupid. Running after you like there's no tomorrow, without realizing there's no hope for me. I'll never catch up to you."

"Do you even hear yourself? Look, I'm really sorry, but I'm not the best at expressing love for other people, okay? I've always been bad at it. I would never do anything to hurt you and I know that, deep down, some part of you knows that." The dragon slayer began pacing back and forth furiously. "You've got it all made up in your head that I don't love you. I do! I love you so much, Freed. So fucking much. You wanna know why I didn't show up even though I promised to? I didn't forget, you were all I could think about! But I couldn't stand to come in here and see you hurting! When they crushed your hand, you screamed. And that scream has been haunting me all day long. I just wasn't strong enough to face you again after hearing that much pain in your voice. Knowing I did absolutely nothing to stop it."

My eyes widened. Was this true? Had he really been avoiding me because he felt guilty about what happened? It was believable, but it still didn't explain one other thing.

"O-Okay, I guess that makes sense, but that still doesn't justify or explain why you denied being in love with me. And you did it right in front of me." I was almost hissing with anger, this was something that had been bothering me for awhile now. "And it also doesn't explain why you're always giving Mira second glances."

"Alright, you've got a point on both those things. And both I can explain in detail." Laxus sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, seeming to calm down a little. "I'll be honest, I denied it because I am... Really insecure about my sexuality. I know, it's stupid, and the only person judging me is myself but I can't help it. I'm always afraid of what other people will think if they know the person I, a fearless dragon slayer, chose to be my mate is of the same gender as me."

I just stared at him for a long time before responding. "Oh. So you're ashamed of me."

"No, that's not it at all. I'm ashamed of myself. You're the most perfect, beautiful person I've ever met and I could never even dream of living up to that, of being as brave and selfless as you." Laxus reached out and put his hand over mine. I tensed, but decided not to pull away. I could at least hear him out. "And the thing with Mira... I don't love her. Don't have feelings for her. She's lesbian so how could I? The eyes you see me making at her is really just... I don't know how to explain this without it sounding like total bullshit but she and I have weird way of communicating without talking. That's what you're seeing."

I felt a flutter of hope in my chest. He didn't love her. It made perfect sense that they had a sort of special means of communication. I had done that with Evergreen before. So I understood why it often looked like he was just staring at Mirajane when really they were using some sort of signal to talk to each other.

"That's... All it is?" I peered at him curiously, lips twitching upward in a hopeful smile.

"Yeah. I wouldn't lie to you, Freed." Laxus nodded, stroking the back of my hand.

I hesitated, then slowly scooted closer, tentatively wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." I whispered. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay." Laxus slipped his arms around my waist and kissed the top of my head. "If I were you, I'd feel pretty dejected too. You always work so hard and I'll admit I haven't done nearly enough to return the favor. Your feelings are valid, and I really appreciate you talking to me about it."

I hummed in response, snuggling closer to him. "No, don't sugar-coat it. I was so wrong for accusing you of such dreadful things..."

"Maybe, but given how long you've been doing things for me without stopping or even getting tired... Hell, I'd be a little crappy too every once in awhile, and I'd probably snap at some point. All you have to do is admit you're tired. You know I'll never force you to do things for me." Laxus reasoned, running his hands through my hair. "You need a break. And a real, honest-to-god break."

"No, no, I'm fine." I tried to wave him off but he slid his hand up to the back of my head, fingers sliding into my hair, tugging lightly. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to cut off my protesting. "S-Seriously, Laxus, I'm okay."

"I wasn't asking. And no you're not, especially after what happened to your precious hand." He smoothed down the jade-green locks with his fingers, occasionally running his fingertips across my scalp. "Speaking of which, how long are you gonna be here?"

"Until Wendy gets back. She said she wants to give it just a little more time to make sure it's healed completely. I think it's fine, but she's just double-checking." I told him, savoring his strong, musky scent. "And you're delusional, because I am totally fine."

"Stop lying to me, Freed, it's extremely obvious when you are because you're no good at it." Laxus chuckled, which sounded like a deep rumble in his chest like distant thunder. "You may not know it yet, but you're absolutely exhausted. Fourteen years of doing everything you possibly can for me and getting next to nothing in return is finally catching up to you. Nobody's ever told you this, but there's only so much a person can give before they start to lose themselves in the process. Once you have nothing left in you to give, you start giving pieces of yourself away. And I don't want that to happen to you." he continued to caress the back of my head, producing a very pleasant sensation. I never wanted it to end.

"B-But... I don't want to stop..." I mumbled, dismayed by the fact he was telling me I had to take a break from helping him.

"I'm not asking you to stop altogether because that'll kill you. But please... Take some time off. Maybe it's time you let me do things for you." Laxus tilted his head so it was resting on mine. "I was thinking we could go down to the beach together with the whole Thunder Legion. They're gonna stay for a day, you and I are gonna stay for three days. That way, we can spend some quality time with our team... And with each other." he suggested, smiling at the idea.

My heart skipped a beat. Two whole days, alone with Laxus. That sounded like such a nice arrangement. I almost melted at the very thought of spending quality time with him.

"That sounds... Lovely. Thank you, Laxus." I nuzzled his collarbone gratefully, still clinging to him like an anxious child.

"But there's a catch. While we're there, you're not allowed to do a single damn thing for me or for anyone else. You're gonna sit back and take it easy." He gently pried my hands off his neck so he could hold me out at arm's length, giving me a stern look.

"Language." I muttered. "And I'm afraid I'll have to decline, although that is a thoughtful idea of yours."

"Freed Justine!" the blonde laughed, whacking me over the head with his arm playfully. "Those are the rules, and you _will not break them,_ got it?"

I glared at him for a moment. He knew how seriously I took the following of rules. Finally, I sighed and gave up. "Fine. If it's a rule, then I have no choice but to abide by it. Especially if you're the one who set it." I grumbled, folding my arms and giving him an indignant look.

"Hah. There's the Freed I know and love. Look at you, pretending to be all annoyed with me." he chuckled and scooped me up into his arms again, stealing kisses along the side of my neck.

I blushed and tried to wriggle away, giggling. "Don't do that, it tickles." I scolded, swatting his arm.

"Oh, does it?" he gave me a mischievous smile that told me I should not have said that. He pinned my arms to my sides and assaulted my neck with kisses, nibbling lightly on ticklish places.

I burst out laughing, unable to fend him off. "Laxus!" I squealed, voice shrill with laughter. "Stahp!" I struggled feebly, but he was too strong.

Finally, he was merciful and pulled away, after pressing one last tender kiss to the soft skin just beneath my ear. I was gasping for breath, unable to stop smiling, face flushed.

"Good heavens..." I managed to gasp out. "You are absolutely evil sometimes."

"I am. But you're just so cute I couldn't resist. Don't make me promise it won't happen again because that's a promise I'll probably break within a week." Laxus grinned at me, releasing my arms so I could move as I pleased again. "You really are so adorable, Freed. Absolutely precious."

Using my good hand (the other was lightly bandaged, Wendy said it was just a precaution), I quietly wrote out a set of runes in the air. They glowed purple, flashing and wavering uncertainly like holograms.

"Whatcha doin?" Laxus asked, mesmerized by the mysterious patterns I was creating in the air.

"Making a spell that will keep you from tickling me." I replied, smirking at him. "I hate to admit it but I'm pretty ticklish, so I'd rather not spend the next two months being tormented because of such..."

"Oh, no you don't!" Laxus suddenly snatched my wrist and zapped my runes out of the air with a quick lightning attack that caused no damage to humans, yet was capable of disrupting my incomplete spell.

"Hey." I immediately shot him a glare. "That's cheating. Don't touch my runes."

"Sorry, buttercup, I just couldn't have you stopping me from having fun with you, from messing with you occasionally. Nowhere in your rules does it state that I am not allowed to tickle you." Laxus shot back, evenly. "And you can't go and change them on the spot either."

I frowned. "That's not fair. Cheater."

"Life isn't fair." Laxus gave me such a matter-of-fact look that I wasn't sure if I wanted to punch him or kiss him. "I figured that you, of all people, would know that." he said, adding insult to injury.

"But sometimes, when it's things like this that I have some control over, life has to be fair." I squirmed out of his grasp and sat across from him, giving him an indignant glare. "So let me set up the spell and stop harassing me in the process."

"Hmm..." Laxus pretended to think about it, propping his chin up on his palm. "No. Sorry." he smirked. I mumbled something about him being as stubborn as a mule under my breath, but he had enhanced hearing and burst out laughing. "I heard that, Freed! You can't insult me when I'm in the room, it's just not possible."

"Well, I don't say anything that I wouldn't be able to say to your face." I remarked, coldly. "You're as stubborn as a mule, Laxus."

"Fair enough. But I'm not gonna stop either." he shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Can't. Wouldn't. Won't."

I sighed, completely exasperated. "You annoy me sometimes. Anyway, didn't Ever and Bix say they were gonna come by and visit?"

"Yep. They should be along any minute now." Laxus nodded.

Ironically, the words had just barely left his mouth when the door flew open and in rushed Bickskow and Evergreen. They were both so frantic with excitement that I couldn't make out what either of them was saying, just bits and pieces like "you're alive!" and "are you okay?" and "we missed you sooooo much!" and, of course, "don't ever scare us like that again or else-!"

"Guys, guys, I'm fine. Really. Wendy's just keeping me here a few extra minutes to make sure everything's healed up okay." I explained, letting them hug the living daylight out of me. "Besides, both of you have been in the infirmary at least five times more often than I have, and you never worry _this_ much about each other..."

"That's because you're our captain. We need you alive and functioning in order to be alive and functioning ourselves." Ever reasoned.

"Touché." I nodded my understanding and pulled both of them in for a group hug. "I missed you guys too."

"Aww, Freed _does_ have a heart!" Bickskow said, with a mock-adorable tone.

"You shut up." I swatted his arm. "How else would I be alive right now, you absolute idiot..."

"Only the three of you can make a beautiful family reunion so absolutely amusing that I cannot stop laughing." Laxus remarked, from where he was sitting. "Oh, and guys? There's something I want to tell you... About Freed and I."

My heart nearly sprang right out of my chest, beginning to race like a wild horse in a stampede. My eyes widened slightly as I realized what was going on. _This is how he's making it up to me. He's telling them about us. He's proving that he isn't ashamed of me. He's proving that he isn't just taking advantage of me._

"Oh? What about you two?" Evergreen asked as she and Bix slowly pulled away from me to look at him, heads tilted to either side like curious puppies.

I swallowed hard.

"Well... Freed and I... We're kinda... Together." Laxus finally managed to blurt out.

"I knew it." Bickslow said, folding his arms and giving the blonde a stern look. "Ever and I both knew. You just wouldn't tell us."

"So although we appreciate y'all coming out like this, it's no big surprise, really." Evergreen jumped in, using her favorite matter-of-fact voice. "It's been really obvious ever since Bix caught you two about to kiss a couple weeks ago..."

"Oh. You saw that, huh?" I blushed and looked down at the blankets pooled in my lap, embarrassed. "I honestly thought we got away with it..."

"Heh. Lucky for you, it didn't really surprise me then either. It's always been obvious that you're hopelessly in love with Laxus. All he had to do was realize that... And I think it's safe to say he did." Bickslow nodded and rumpled my hair roughly, much to my indignance.

I swatted his hand away and tried to smooth down my now-tangled locks of green hair. "Fair enough."

"So. Now you know. Or at least, now you have a verbal confession." Laxus shrugged awkwardly, obviously trying to end the conversation on a less tense note.

"Heh. Yeah. I'm proud of both of you. Thanks for telling us." Ever smiled and put her hand on my and Laxus's shoulder, comfortingly. "We won't judge either of you. Just be yourselves, don't feel the need to hide it."

"Yeah. And if anyone makes fun of you or talks shit I'll knock them out!" Bickslow agreed, with _way_ too much enthusiasm.

"Watch your language. And thanks again. The understanding is much appreciated." I nodded gratefully.

Wendy came back a moment later and declared that I could leave. She said my hand was fully healed (just like it was before) but I should probably take some time off, just to be safe, and more of the pointless instructions healers usually give out, such as "make sure you get enough sleep and drink enough water etc etc".

Laxus immediately set up arrangements for our vacation. Ever and Bix were beyond excited to go, as was I, but for different reasons. Not only did sitting on the beach reading a book sound absolutely lovely, but two whole days alone with Laxus was like two whole days in heaven. I was mostly looking forward to the quality bonding time couples need to flourish. It would be our first time doing something just the two of us.

My only gripe was that Laxus wouldn't even let me help him make arrangements for the trip. He kept telling me to stop scrambling around and get some rest. I didn't take very kindly to this, but I also couldn't deny him. So I just left the room, grumbling to myself about it.

Despite how dejected I pretended to be at the fact Laxus was making me take some time off, I secretly found his sincerity and determination adorable and charming. He cared so much about me that he kept turning down my help and insisting on doing everything himself. That, to me, was priceless.

_To be continued..._

**-**

**A/N: heh sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the usual fare, I got tired and decided to write the little vacation into the next chapter instead of adding it to this one. If I stuck it in this one it wouldve gotten outrageously long and tedious to read. I figured it was best to break it off early to avoid any further editing problems. Alright well. Chapter 9 comes out sometime this weekend, I hope you'll like it!**

**_-UltimatexAdmin_**


	9. The beach

_"Double halves of wholeness. Find the missing equal sign. Double halves of wholeness now return to intertwine." _

-Klaxons, "Twin Flames"

**-**

_Laxus POV_

The beach was absolutely beautiful this time of year. Cerulean-blue waves of salty ocean water rose up to form white-capped waves, surging forward and crashing on the khaki-colored beach. Behind us, there was a line of densely packed palm trees. Before us, there was nothing in sight but the deep blue sea.

Bickslow, Evergreen and I were waist-deep in the water, engaged in an intense splash-fight. Freed was sitting on the beach, quietly reading a book. Several times, we had tried to get him to join us, but he politely declined because he didn't want to take his shirt off.

_Tch. Silly Freed. _

There was a reason why none of us, not even me, had ever seen Freed shirtless. He considered it improper, though I'm not sure why. Fortunately, we had managed to keep him out of his scarlet coat, leaving him clad in a white button-up shirt and a pair of baggy black shorts. Bickslow and I were shirtless, also wearing shorts. Ever was in a bikini, naturally. But I really wanted to get Freed in the water. I couldn't help but feel like he was missing out on the fun.

"Freed!" I yelled out, after viciously pounding Bickslow into the water. "Come on out here!"

Freed looked up from his book to give me an exasperated stare. "We've been over this. I don't want to."

"I don't care if you don't want to. Come on and have some fun. Screw being proper." I waded out of the water and marched over to him, arms folded. "Come on. I'm not going anywhere until you get up and join us. I'll throw you in if I have to."

At this, Freed snapped me a venomous glare. "You wouldn't dare. Don't. Even. Think about it."

"Too late." I grinned and reached down to pick him up, intending to throw him in the ocean.

With a little yelp of alarm, he dropped his book, sprang to his feet, and bolted with inhuman speed, kicking up a bunch of sand in the process. I laughed before giving chase. The little guy was fast, surprisingly so, his jade-green hair- which was currently tied back in a high ponytail- streaming out behind him like a rippling wave of green fire.

"Cut it out, Laxus!" Freed exclaimed, eyes wide with panic, as he darted around a palm tree.

I was able to keep up with him somewhat, but not able to catch up. So I just kept running after him. "No, not until you're in the ocean! It's not that hard!" I shouted back, grinning from ear to ear. "You can keep running all you want, I'm gonna catch you at some point."

And so, we continued running around the beach. Bix and Ever continued their splash-fight, nearly drowning each other in the process.

At one point, Freed made a critical mistake and tripped over a rock. He fell, face first, in the sand. Before he could recover, I flipped him over onto his back and attacked, pinning him down with one hand and viciously tickling his sides with the other.

"Agh, no, stop!" Freed let out a high-pitched squeal of laughter, writhing and struggling, trying to kick me off of him.

"This is what you get for running away." I told him, scoldingly. "You might as well give up now, there's no way you're getting away again."

"Get off me, you oaf!" he cried, managing to kick me square in the chest.

With a winded "oof!", I toppled and fell on my side, giving him the time he needed to scramble to his feet and run away. I sighed, watching his rapid retreat. It seemed I'd never get him in the water.

Ever and Bix had my back, though. As I got up and started walking back to the ocean, the two of them managed to corner Freed and all but completely drag him into the ocean. It was hilarious. He realized he was outnumbered and stopped struggling, but that didn't mean he was done protesting, which he did, all the way to the water.

"See? It's not so bad, is it?" I asked, as I approached the absolutely miserable-looking rune mage.

"It's too cold." he said, giving me a withering glare. "And I hate you."

"I thought you couldn't tell lies, Freed." I planted one fist on my hip and grinned at him. "So stop lying. You're really bad at it."

"And what if I'm not lying and I actually completely and utterly despise you right now?" Freed asked, still staring at me with enough disdain to kill a man. "Because I actually do, but just in the moment for right now."

"Don't make me tickle you again." I flexed my fingers threateningly. He gave me a look as he sidled a few steps away from me, just to be safe. "Damn. You must really hate being tickled. I'll keep that in mind so I know what to do when you're not behaving." I grinned.

"No." he said, simply.

"No? Is that the best comeback you have?" I laughed. When he nodded his head with a deadpan look on his face, I sighed. "You're hopeless, you know."

"He's Freed, for fuck's sakes!" Bix shouted at us.

"Hey!" Freed bristled, and for a second I thought he was gonna assault Bickslow. "You watch your language, pal!"

"Yeah, Bix!" Ever chimed in. "This is a fucking _christian_ Minecraft server!"

"You too!" Freed snapped at her, absolutely furious.

I wrapped my arms around his tiny body and pulled him close, stroking his damp hair, trying to calm him down. "You're just cranky because you don't like the water, aren't you?" I asked.

"Hmph. Yes." he admitted, with a very cranky huff.

"Calm down, sugarplum. Try to enjoy yourself a little bit? Please? For me?" I smoothed my thumb across the back of his ear.

"Hmm..." he sighed, and looked up at me with sparkling hazel eyes. "Maybe. But only if you carry me. I hate being wet. Plus I'm getting my shirt all wet."

I chuckled at that. "Okay. I suppose. Here, get on my back." I turned around, and he immediately jumped on my back with surprising speed and agility, wrapping his arms around my neck and his legs around my middle. I wrapped my hands around his thighs so I could hold him up. "Who knew you were the kind of person to enjoy piggyback rides?"

"Only when it's you because this is _not_ dignified." Freed remarked, burying his face in the crook of my neck. "You smell good."

"Hah!" I barked a laugh. "That's something I've actually never been told before."

"Oh? Why not? It's true."

"Dunno. Nobody's ever really payed attention to my scent before. Not even past girlfriends. But we don't speak about them here, do we?"

"No we do not."

"Agreed."

With that, I suddenly started sprinting as fast as I could through the water, splashing it everywhere, and making extremely sharp, pivoting turns. I wasn't trying to throw him off, just scare him a little so he'd forget all about the fact we were in water.

Almost immediately he started shrieking. _"Aiiiiiiiii! _Laxus! What on earth? Stop it! Let me down!"

"Nope!" I laughed and spun around abruptly. He was clinging to my neck so tight I almost couldn't breathe. But I didn't care, I was having too much fun scaring the living daylights out of my poor boyfriend. Finally, I screeched to a stop where the water was up to my stomach, and abruptly dropped him.

He fell underwater, much to my amusement. I doubled over, laughing hysterically, as he resurfaced, coughing and spluttering, eyes wide with almost panic. The water was all the way up to his shoulders, and he was freaking out about it. "You do realize I can't swim, right?" he cried, absolutely mortified. "The only reason I'm still alive right now is because I managed to get my feet under me!"

"Oh shit." I rushed forward and scooped him up into my arms before a wave could come through and carry him away. Although I was having fun messing with him, I didn't want him to drown. "Shit. I didn't know. I'm sorry, Freed." I apologized, as I waded closer to the beach, carrying him bridal-style.

"I-It's okay, I'm okay." he reassured. His teeth were chattering, which I found funny and adorable.

"Aww, is somebody cold?" I asked, teasingly.

"Y-Yes. C-Can I get out of the water n-now?" he started shivering all over. "It's f-freezing..."

"Yeah, of course. I'll sit with you for a bit." I promised, as I reached the beach and set him down in the sand. The poor little thing was absolutely soaked. "Come on, let's get you dried off."

I wrapped him in a towel, laughed when I realized he looked like a burrito, and got myself a towel before we returned to the spot he had been sitting at before I so rudely forced him into the ocean. We just sat there for awhile, watching Ever and Bix goof off and watching the low-crescent waves slide smoothly onto the shore, breaking around our friends' legs.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Freed remarked. He didn't seem quite so annoyed and tense anymore, now that he was partially dried off.

"It really is." I agreed, reaching out and putting my hand over his tiny one. "And so are you."

"Quiet, you." he said, even as he scooted closer and curled up in my lap, resting his head on my chest. "Thank you for bringing me out here. I'm really enjoying myself. It's so nice."

"Anytime." I smiled and slipped my arms around him, running my fingers through his damp hair. "Sorry for throwing you in earlier, I really had no idea you couldn't swim. No wonder you hate being wet."

"Yeah... It's not exactly something I talk about... Heh... Most kids learn to swim at a young age but I was too shy to take lessons or ask for help. You were my only friend until I was fourteen, and even then, I don't ask for help because I am the help." Freed told me, nuzzling his face into my chest. I could feel his warm breath on my skin.

"I understand, don't worry. You don't have to explain yourself to me." I reassured, kissing the top of his head. "Why are you so cute? Please explain that to me."

"I'm not." he snuggled closer, tucking his head under my chin and closing his eyes.

"Excuse my language but that's bullshit." I buried my face in his hair and took a deep breath, savoring his wonderful lavender scent. "You're adorable."

He was silent, choosing not to respond. Instead he just sighed and relaxed into my embrace, tracing out slow patterns on my chest with his fingertips. I hummed softly at the pleasant sensation, tilting my head back and smiling. This little creature in my arms was so absolutely perfect. I couldn't get enough of him.

"Goodness, Freed, I'm pretty sure we ruined your shirt." I remarked, noting how the white fabric of his shirt seemed stretched thin, clinging to his skin.

"Oh. You're right. That's a shame." Freed glanced down at the garment dolefully.

"Did you bring an extra?" I asked. He nodded. "Okay, good, you should probably go get it on."

He shook his head. "It's all the way back at the cabin. I'm too lazy."

"Okay, well, my shirt's right here. I left it here when I got into the water with those two muttonheads." I picked up the discarded black T-shirt and showed it to him. "You can wear it for now, if you'd like. I can get another shirt when we walk back to the cabin."

"Oh, really?" Freed's whole face lit up. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Plus, you'll look absolutely precious in a shirt that's several sizes too big for you." I nodded, grinning widely.

"Okay. Thanks." Freed flashed me a genuine smile before turning around for modesty's sake and taking his soaked shirt off. He quickly changed into my shirt before turning back to face me, eyes sparkling with happiness. "It's too big, but I love it. It smells just like you." he said, clapping his hands excitedly.

"Oh my _god!"_ I said, immediately pulling him back into my arms. "You look so fucking cute in that!"

"Language." Freed squirmed around for a bit before giving up and letting me fuss over him. He really did look so cute in a shirt that was at least ten sizes too big for his tiny frame. His slender, small build ensured that he could just barely wear adult clothes, only if they were in the smallest size. "Oh, for crying out loud, I'm not _that_ cute..."

"Nonsense, Freed, you're too precious and adorable for this world. Go back to heaven with your fellow angels where you belong." I ran my hand up and down his arm.

"Pfffft. You're one to talk." Freed rolled his eyes and plunked his head down on my shoulder.

We stayed like that for so long. It felt right.

-

Bix and Ever left the next morning, so when Freed and I woke up, we were alone together. The morning started off extremely hilariously. Freed had woken up way earlier than me (still clad in my shirt) and had tried to make breakfast for the both of us (wearing my shirt) but ended up accidently setting something that looked like it used to be a piece of paper on fire (still wearing my shirt).

In summary, I came awake to the sharp smell of smoke and Freed's startled exclamation of, "Good heavens!" coming from the kitchen.

By the time I got down there to see if he was okay, he had already put out the fire and was standing there, eyes wide with shock, staring at the burnt, blackened husk of whatever the hell that used to be in his hands.

"Freed? What the heck?" I walked in and cupped his hands between my own. "What is this?"

"That... Is exactly what happens... When I try to cook in an unfamiliar environment." Freed gasped out, still adrenaline-shot from dealing with a fire so early in the morning.

I laughed and kissed his forehead before turning around to examine the white stove behind me. It was unharmed, and there were freshly made scrambled eggs sitting in a frying pan on top of it. The eggs looked really delicious, not gonna lie.

"Oh wow. Thanks, sugarplum, this looks great." I told him, as I started getting out plates.

Freed was still staring at the burnt something. "There was _supposed_ to be bacon too but we all see how that turned out..." he muttered under his breath.

I heard him, and chuckled softly. "Oh, Freed, it's okay. Relax. Come get some food." I handed him a plate and took the burnt something from him, nudging him toward the stove.

He resisted, saying, "No, it's fine, you can get yours first."

"Freed Justine, I refuse to let you do anything of the sort. You are taking a break, remember? Get your food." I scolded, before he could say anything else.

"Good grief..." he mumbled, rubbing his forehead, as he pushed past me and obediently started scooping some eggs onto the plate I had given him.

Much to my amusement, he got eggs for both of us and tried to give me a plate of them first. But I refused to accept it and told him to put it back on the counter where I could come get it.

"You're impossible." he told me as he returned to the dining room with only his plate and started eating, albeit a bit begrudgingly.

"Heh. So are you." I smiled and got up to retrieve my plate from the kitchen. When I got back a moment later, I noticed it for the first time. "Hey. You're still wearing my shirt." I remarked.

"Indeed." Freed said, noncommittally.

"Good. It looks really good on you." I nodded my approval and sat down across from him, wolfing down the eggs with a gusto. "Damn. These are really delicious." I told him.

"Language. And thank you." my partner was making a huge point to keep his responses brief and blunt. I knew exactly why, it was his way of pouting because I wasn't letting him help me with anything at all and it was really starting to bother him.

"Freed. Look at me." I leaned forward, propping my chin up on my hand, with a lazy grin on my face. As soon as his lovely hazel eyes rose to meet mine, I said, "Don't make me tickle you again. Because I can and I will. Remember, you're on a break until the day after tomorrow, which means you aren't allowed to help me with anything. Those are the rules."

"I know, I know. It's just hard." he shrugged and returned to his meal. "I'm so used to doing the little things that not doing them makes everything feel wrong. If I didn't know any better I'd say someone ripped a hole in the space time continuum."

"Sometimes you can be a bit dramatic with your choice of words, silly." I told him, smiling gently.

We finished eating in silence, mostly because he didn't seem interested in talking. I just had to get him back in the mood for everything. So once we had both finished eating, I took his plate from him and washed them both before putting them away and returning to him. He had moved, and was now seated across the dining room at a little nook in the large window there, reading a book, a blanket tucked around his waist.

I came up on him and surprised him by getting on my knees beside him, turning his chin so he was looking at me, and kissing him passionately, crashing my lips into his. He slowly let go of his book and slipped an arm around my neck, pulling me closer, deepening the kiss.

"Laxus..." he whispered against my lips.

I didn't respond, slowly shifting so I was sitting on the windowsill beside him. I pulled him closer so he was sitting in my lap, facing me, and locked our lips together again. I took the time to study his perfect features. Everything about him was soft and lovely and gorgeous. I just wanted to kiss every inch of him.

"Freed... I love you so much..." I muttered, as he pushed up against me, blushing as I nipped at his soft, plump lips.

"I-I love you too..." he stammered out.

Just the sweet, nervous tone in his voice was enough to make me lose some of my grip on my own self-control. I couldn't do it when he sounded like that.

I kissed him, hard, running my hand up and down his thigh as I did. His skin was smooth, soft, and warm. Perfect. But he was slowly pulling away, I noticed immediately. I let him go, even though my instincts screamed at me to keep him from leaving, to continue to kiss him until neither of us could breathe.

I opened my eyes, realizing for the first time that I had closed them, and studied Freed's face. He didn't seem hurt or frightened or angry. He just seemed... Neutral.

"It's too early." he smirked at me before I could ask any questions. "And I want to finish my book."

"So promise me you'll let me kiss you more later." I learned closer, smoothing my thumb across his chin. "Because you're amazing."

"Would it make you happy?" Freed inquired, studying me with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

"Indubitably." I nodded.

"Alright, then. You have yourself a deal. Now go away and let me read." The little rune mage gave me a playful shove in the chest. "Shoo." he added, as he picked up his book and opened it up again.

Seeing as there was nothing else I could do, I just went outside and viewed the scenery, leaving him to his book. There wasn't a single doubt in my mind that the remaining days I had alone with Freed would be the best two days of my life.

_To be continued..._

**A/N: just warning you, in the next chapter there will be some sexual content but it won't be a lemon, and it won't escalate past some heated making out and everything that goes with that, but nothing that comes after. I have a head canon that Freed is saving his "first time" for marriage, like the proper little boy he is, so don't expect to see any lemons in this story lol. See y'all next time, byeeeee!!!**

**_-UltimatexAdmin_**


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